Simplicity and Graco Crib Recalls Announced

April 2010

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has recalled thousands of Simplicity and Graco cribs, issuing a warning that babies can suffocate or strangle in them. The Simplicity recall has been linked to at least one death.

The CPSC said that the Simplicity recall involved thousands of cribs and possibly even hundreds of thousands, although many of them have previously been recalled for other defects. The action includes all full-sized cribs with tubular metal mattress-support frames. The frames can bend or detach, which causes the mattress to collapse and creates a space in which a baby can become trapped and suffocate.

The agency said that approximately 217,000 Graco dropside cribs manufactured by LaJobi also have defective hardware. The side that moves up and down the dropside can break or detach. This creates a gap between the crib mattress and the side where a baby can become trapped and suffocate or strangle. The CPSC and LaJobi have received almost 100 complaints about the cribs so far.

Almost a dozen Simplicity recalls have been announced since 2005 and the manufacturer’s cribs have been linked to 13 infant deaths.