Consumers have been advised by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to stop using Lea Panel Loft and Bunk Beds. The identified hazard involves the bed’s side mattress support rails, which can break, thereby posing a fall hazard.
More than 60,000 units were sold in the U.S. and Canada. This recall involves the side rails on 34 different Lea children’s bed collections, including loft, bunk and panel styles in twin, full and queen sizes. The wooden beds were sold in various wood finishes and paint colors, including black or white. The beds have two side mattress support rails connecting the headboard to the footboard and slats or a Bunkie board to support the mattress.
There have been 22 reports of incidents involving the recalled beds in the U.S. since 2009, and one in Canada. Two injuries were reported. In a 2009 incident in Madison, Wisconsin, an 11-year-old girl was placing a fitted sheet on the top bunk when the child, mattress and bed supports collapsed on her 6-year-old sister in the bed below. The 6 year old was treated at a hospital emergency department for a head injury.
Consumers are advised to immediately stop using the beds, which were sold at Direct Buy stores and furniture stores nationwide and online at Amazon.com and various other websites from August 2008 through March 2013 for between $400 and $3,000.
At any point during the design and manufacturing process, failures regarding safety issues associated with children’s beds, toys and other children’s products may contribute to a product’s hazards, including (1) missteps during the early design stages; (2) inadequate testing to ensure safe performance; and (3) marketing efforts that include inadequate instructions and warnings, or failure to include any relevant cautions. Even one act of negligence during the process from product’s conception to its sale can cause catastrophic injuries and even wrongful death once the product reaches homes, schools and workplaces of consumers.
If you or a family member have suffered significant personal injuries as the result of a defective product, contact the law office of Swartz & Swartz, P.C. Call (617) 742-1900 in the Boston area, or for clients in greater Massachusetts, New England, or other states across the U.S., call toll-free at 1-800-545-3732.
