New CPSC Rules Aim to Keep Babies Safe
Starting in 2022, infant sleeper products will be held to new standards. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says sleeper products will be held to the same rules and regulations required for bassinets and cribs. The popular sleeper devices were previously not subject to stringent safety standards, as they weren’t marketed in the same category as cribs. This loophole led to the death of at least 94 infants.
Safe Products, Safer Babies
American consumers expect that the products they buy from retailers like Walmart, Target, and Amazon are vetted thoroughly with safety standards in mind. It’s a reasonable assumption, but unfortunately, inclined sleepers were designed in direct opposition to traditional medical and safety advice. Doctors have long advocated for putting babies to sleep on their backs to minimize the risk of suffocation. Inclined infant sleepers raise babies up, helping to mitigate many of the worst side effects of infant reflux. While this might have provided momentary relief for parents of crying babies, the risk of suffocation was always present. For at least 94 families, use of these products resulted in the suffocation of their infants.
New Safety Standards
Since 2015, safety advocates have argued that there’s simply no such thing as a safe inclined infant sleeper. In response, the industry applied voluntary safety standards designed to ease the concerns of experts and parents. Potentially dangerous products like those offered by Fisher-Price remained on the market. With the passing of the CPSC’s new rules, we can only hope that the risks associated with these products will be eliminated for good.
Contact Our Dangerous Products Attorneys
Families whose babies have suffered because of these inclined sleepers deserve justice. Many may opt to pursue legal action in the wake of such tragedy. A Virginia defective baby products lawyer can help families suffering from such losses, going to bat for them against major baby companies like Fisher-Price.