Infants and toddlers are the most vulnerable of humans. That is why all baby products must be extremely safe for young children. The Consumer Product Safety Commission recently announced that companies need to improve stroller safety in order to protect babies from harm. This government agency says that they will approve a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPR) which will create federal safety standards for all strollers. This is similar to the situation that recently occurred with cribs in the United States. The CPSC voted 3-0 to approve the publication of the NPR in the Federal Register. All companies that manufacture strollers will be required to adhere to the new federal standards or their products will be recalled.
According to the NPR documents, a total of 1,203 stroller-related nonfatal incidents were reported between January 2008 and December 31st 2012. This is not to mention the many un-reported incidents which may have occurred. Of all the incidents, 359 resulted in serious injury. 72 of the non-fatal injuries happened when a baby's finders, toes, or limbs were stuck in the stroller hinges. And 52 of the injuries had to do with the wheels of the stroller. Also, 42 of the injuries had to do with the locking mechanisms used to stop the wheels. 70 of the injuries within this four year window resulted in moderate to severe injuries. Reports show that babies suffered tooth extractions, lacerations requiring stitches, head injuries, fractures, and partial amputations of fingers from these accidents.
The CPSC staff grouped the dangers of strollers into a number of categories to best ascertain what aspects of these strollers need improvement. One area that is a danger hazard on strollers is the wheels. 36% of all the incidents in the CPSC study were related to a wheel issue. Sometimes the wheels will break, causing the possibility of an accident. Other times, the wheels would result in a detachment, or the tire of the wheel will burst. A total of 52 injuries occurred between 2008 and 2012 because of wheel issues with strollers and there were 429 accidents.
Another stroller hazard relates to the parking brakes. There were 132 incidents from failed parking brakes and eight serious injuries, Most of the time, defective parking brakes would snap and the stroller would roll away, oftentimes with a baby inside. The stroller could strike an object in these situations, causing severe injury or even death in some cases. Another danger has to do with lock mechanisms. These lock mechanisms resulted in an unexpected collapse of the stroller in about 121 incidents. There were 42 reported injuries for these situations. One toddler died when he tried to climb up into the seat of a stroller and it folded over him, causing compressional asphyxiation.
Strollers tend to have restraint which can be dangerous. 29 children in the CPSC study were injured in this way when they managed to unbuckle the seatbelts or when the restraining broke or were too loose. Hinges are another danger, causing at least 72 injuries within the four-year study period. Children will place their fingers or arms near the hinges, and this has resulted in lacerations, amputations and other gruesome accidents. Hinge issues are the highest injury rate possibility for any stroller hazard.
Tray detachments, seat-related issues, sharp points or edges on the stroller, handlebar issues, canopy-related dangers, clearance issues, and structural related issues are all other dangers associated with these seemingly simple strollers. As a result of many issues with these products, the CPSC plan to create an effective new manufacturing guideline. Talk to a personal injury attorney today if your child was injured in a stroller incident that could have been prevented. You may be able to seek compensation from the company for product liability, so discuss this case with an attorney today!