The Colorado-based firm phil&teds USA, Inc. is voluntarily recalling 54,000 “metoo” Clip-on Chairs, in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), due to defects creating fall and amputation hazards. The defects involve missing or worn clamp pads which allow the chairs to detach from the table surface, resulting in a fall hazard. In addition, children’s fingers may get caught at and about the clamping mechanism, creating an amputation hazard. The user instructions were also determined to be inadequate.
The CPSC and phil&teds have received 19 reports of the chair falling from various table surfaces, resulting in 5 reported injuries including three reports of bruising and two reports of children’s fingers being lacerated, severely pinched, crushed or amputated.
The affected product is an infant/toddler chair on a metal frame and with a nylon fabric seat. It clamps onto to the edge of table surfaces using two metal vise clamps. The upper part of the clamp rests on the table surface and has a rubber pad or a rubber boot covering the clamp on the underside. The recalled chairs were sold in red, black or navy and do NOT have black plastic spacers between the cross bar and clamps. They were sold for between $40 and $50 through Target, Buy Buy Baby, Toys R Us and other independent children’s stores from May 2006 to May 2011. In addition, they were sold on online sites including, Amazon.com and philandteds.com.
Consumers were instructed to immediately stop using the recalled chairs and to contact the company for revised user instructions and a free repair kit.
Manufacturers of child products have a duty to produce safe goods to consumers, especially since children are vulnerable and can suffer severe injuries if a product is unsafe.
At Blume Forte, our New Jersey defective children’s product lawyers have years of experience handling various types of product liability cases and can help you determine if you may have a legitimate basis to bring a claim. Contact us at 973-845-4421 for a no-cost consultation.