New Jersey Personal Injury Blog

New Federal Safety Standard for Play Yards Approved by CPSC

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recently announced the recall of play yards and crib tents by five big retailers, and has now approved a new mandatory federal safety standard concerning play yards. Six months after the final rule is published in the Federal Register, this play yard standard will become effective.

The new standards include the following:

• Latch and lock mechanisms to prevent the play yard from folding onto a child while in use.
• A stability test to keep the play yard from tipping over.
• Floor strength tests to keep children from getting trapped by the floor and to ensure structural integrity.
• Entrapment tests to ensure that a child’s head cannot get trapped while a bassinet or other accessory is attached to the play yard.
• Neck or head entrapment tests to prevent play yards that have a top rail which folds downward from using a hinge that creates a diamond or V-shape when folded.
• Minimum side height requirements to keep kids from being able to get out of the play yard by themselves.

The CPSC has received more than 2,100 reports of play yard incidents between November 2007 and December 2011. Of those reported incidents, there were 170 injures and 60 fatalities.

Manufacturers of child product have a duty to produce safe products, whether there is a federal safety standard or not. If your child has suffered injury as the result of a defective child product, you may be able to pursue claims surrounding their injuries. The knowledgeable New Jersey product liability lawyers at Blume Goldfaden can help you determine whether you may have a valid claim. Call us for a no-cost consultation at (973) 635-5400.