The Consumer Product Safety Commission said the Simplicity recall was linked to at least one death and involved thousands of cribs, possibly hundreds of thousands, though many had previously been recalled for other defects. The agency said about 217,000 Graco dropside cribs made by LaJobi were also being recalled.
The problem with both types of cribs stems from hardware failures.
In the case of the Graco-branded wood cribs (click for photos), the side that moves up and down - the dropside - can break or detach, creating a dangerous gap between the crib mattress and dropped side. A baby can become trapped and suffocate or strangle. CPSC and LaJobi have received 99 complaints of dropside problems with the cribs. None involved serious injuries.
The Simplicity recall is for all full-sized cribs with tubular metal mattress-support frames. Those frames can bend or detach, causing the mattress to collapse and creating a space that a baby can roll into, become trapped in and suffocate.
A one-year-old boy in North Attleboro, Mass., became trapped in his Simplicity crib and suffocated in 2008, according to the commission.
"CPSC urges all parents and caregivers to not attempt to resell any Simplicity crib to a thrift store, at a yard sale or online," said agency spokesman Scott Wolfson. "These recalled cribs have killed far too many babies and need to be kept out of homes and daycare centers."
Simplicity has been the subject of almost a dozen recalls since 2005 and its cribs have been linked to 13 deaths. Photos of problems with Simplicity cribs.
The commission had previously recalled all Simplicity dropside cribs. With the latest recall, nearly all Simplicity cribs have now been recalled, possibly hundreds of thousands of cribs. Simplicity and its successor company, SFCA Inc., are no longer in business, so the agency doesn't know exactly how many cribs were sold.
The simplicity recall includes, but is not limited to, the following cribs: Aspen 4-in-1 Model 8755; Chelsea Deluxe 4-in-1 Convertible Sleep System Model 8324; Graco 4-in-1 Ultra Sleep System Model 4600; Graco Aspen 3-in-1 Model 8740; Simplicity Crib and Changer Combo Model 8994; Simplicity Ellis Deluxe 4-in-1 Convertible Sleep System Model 8676; Simplicity Nursery-in-a-Box Convertible Crib Model 8910.
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On the Net:
Consumer Product Safety Commission: http://www.cpsc.gov
