Simplicity drop-side cribs recalled for the third time in two years

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For the third time in two years, hundreds of thousands of drop-side cribs distributed by Simplicity Inc. and sold under its name have been recalled for posing an entrapment or suffocation hazard for small children.

About 400,000 Simplicity drop-side cribs were recalled today by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Children can become trapped or suffocate between the side of the crib and the mattress after hardware breaks or deforms in the bed, causing the drop side to detach and create a gap that babies can fall into, the commission said in the recall statement.

In 2007, Simplicity, which imported the cribs from China, reported the death of an 8-month-old child who suffocated after the hardware on the child’s crib broke and the child fell into a gap, the statement said.

Simplicity drop-side cribs continued to pose similar hazards.

Last September, about 600,000 Simplicity drop-side cribs with similar defects were recalled. In 2007, another million Simplicity drop-side cribs were recalled.

The three recalls were for different models of Simplicity drop-side cribs, the commission said.

The commission received reports of 25 other incidents, with no injuries, involving the drop-side detaching from the crib, the recall statement said.

In six of these incidents, the drop side detached because a plastic flexible tab on the crib deformed or broke.

In four incidents the drop side detached due to connectors, tracks or other plastic parts deforming or breaking.

In two of the 25 incidents, children became trapped between the drop side and the mattress.

Simplicity’s drop-side cribs were sold in department stores and children’s stores nationwide from January 2005 to June 2009, for $150 to $300, the statement said.

Simplicity and a related company, SFCA Inc. of Reading, Pa., no longer appear to be in business, the commission said.

Anyone who owns a Simplicity drop-side crib should immediately stop using the crib and find a safe place for their child to sleep, the agency said. The cribs should be immediately returned the place of purchase for a refund, replacement or store credit, the statement said.

-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles