On January 29, 2020, Summer Infant issued a recall for their inclined sleepers – specifically their SwaddleMe By Your Bed sleepers. According to the recall (number 20-059), the recall is preventative. A number of infant fatalities have been reported associated with similar inclined sleep products produced by other manufacturers. Specifically, the infants suffocated after rolling from their back onto their stomach or side (or other under circumstances). The Summer Infant recall affects roughly 46,300 products. It involves the sleepers with model number 91394 – which is located on the cross bar tube of the frame (between the two upright tubes); the sleeper is free-standing.
The inclined sleepers were available at a number of Juvenile product stores and mass merchandisers (including both Amazon and Buy Buy Baby) nationwide from March 2017 to December 2019 – the sleepers were sold for approximately $99 each. As mentioned above, the recall is preventative, as allegedly no injuries or incidents have been reported with the product. The company is urging all consumers to immediately stop using the sleepers; the company is also offering affected consumers either a cash refund or a voucher. Although Summer Infant claims that no injuries/incidents have been reported in association with their products and that the recall is preventative, it is possible that there have been unreported incidents. If you believe that your infant was affected by the Summer Infant inclined sleepers, you should never even consider following the recommendations set out in the recall. Instead, you should explore the possibility of pursuing a product liability claim.
If the harm that your child suffered was directly associated with a defective product, you will likely have grounds to take legal action. If you would like to learn more about your right to pursue a claim after you or a member of your family suffered harm because of a defective product, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with the experts at our law firm immediately.
At Normandie Law Firm, our lawyers have many years of experience handling all sorts of claims, including defective product claims. You can be certain that our product liability lawyers will do everything within their reach to guide you and help you reach a successful claim outcome. If you would like to discuss the possibility of pursuing a claim with the experts at our firm, do not hesitate to contact us at your earliest convenience.
How are Sleepers Dangerous to Infants?
Most parents use baby sleepers for their infants at one point or another. However, baby sleepers are easily the most frequently recalled baby products; this doesn’t change the popularity of the products. Why are these sleepers so dangerous to infants? Infants can roll form their backs onto their stomach or onto their side. Because infants do not have the strength to roll back, many of them suffocate. Without a doubt, suffocation can lead to death. However, if the suffocating infant is discovered promptly, survival is possible. If an infant survives temporary suffocation, permanent injuries are possible. Specifically, infants can suffer permanent brain damage due to the oxygen deprivation associated with suffocation; brain damage could significantly reduce quality of life. Without a doubt, these sleepers can be very dangerous to infants.
Defective Products and Product Liability
Who can be held accountable for the harm associated with defective products? The answer is simple – the company who negligently made the defective product available to consumers could be liable on the basis of product liability. All companies owe their consumers a specific duty of care. Companies must ensure that their products are completely safe for consumer use. To ensure that their products are safe to be used by consumers, these companies subject their products to tests and inspections; this allows companies to identify any hazards that need to be addressed prior to releasing the products to consumers.
Unfortunately, however, companies do not always identify the hazards present in their products. Likewise, they do not always address the hazards and still make the products available to consumers. This failure to identify and address hazards represents a breached duty of care. Breaches of duty put innocent consumers at risk of harm. Specifically, consumers unknowingly purchase defective products that can directly cause harm.
What happens when a defective product harms a consumer? If a defect in design, labeling, or manufacturing directly contributes to the harm that a consumer suffers, the company that negligently made the defective product available for purchase could be liable for all the harm suffered, meaning that victimized consumers could be eligible to sue. For more information about defective products and product liability, do not hesitate to contact our firm today.
Filing a Claim and Recovering Compensation
Depending on the details surrounding the harm that your infant suffered because of the defective inclined baby sleeper, you might have grounds to pursue a claim. If your defective product claim reaches a successful outcome, you might also be eligible to recover compensation. How much compensation could you be eligible to recover? What type of compensation could you receive?
Based on the details of your product liability claim, you could be eligible to recover compensation for some of the following:
- Medical costs
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of consortium
- Funeral and burial expenses
- Punitive damages
Recovering monetary compensation after such a tragic incident involving your innocent infant will not make things change; however, the recovery of compensation can help you and your family move forward with your life. If you would like to learn more about the type and amount of compensation that you could be eligible to recover if your claim is successful, do not hesitate to contact the experts at our firm.
At Normandie Law Firm, you can be certain that our experts are committed to helping you recover the maximum amount of compensation available. Therefore, our lawyers will aggressively fight for your right to be compensated. Whether our product liability lawyers have to negotiate a settlement or take your claim to trial to reach a verdict, you can trust that they will not rest until you recover what you are owed.
For more information about your right to recover compensation, do not hesitate to contact our law firm today.
What Important Steps Should You Follow?
After your infant suffered harm because of a defective product, it could be almost impossible to think clearly and rationally. You might be angry and grieving; you might be too emotionally drained to even think about doing anything. However, you must find the strength to act and to start working towards holding the liable company accountable for the harm that your infant suffered.
All affected parties should do the following:
- Get the infant medically evaluated immediately – to determine the extent of the injury or the cause of death
- Take photos of the defective product
- Contact the company to report the incident and the harm suffered
- Do not agree to return the defective product
- Do not a refund or a voucher
- Do not agree to a free replacement or repair
- Gather all documents/records associated with the purchase of the defective product (i.e. receipts, email confirmations, bank statements, etc.)
- Gather all documents relevant to the harm caused by the defective product
- Seek legal assistance immediately
How Long Do You Have to Sue?
Without a doubt, you might have grounds to sue for the harm that your infant and your entire family suffered. However, if you are interested in taking legal action and possibly recovering compensation, you must have a thorough understanding of the time that you have top pursue your claim. All claims are subject to a statute of limitations.
What is a statute of limitations? A statute of limitations establishes a deadline that determines the length of time that claimants have to file their claims. If claimants do not adhere to the statute of limitations and fail to file their claims on time, they could lose their right to sue and their right to receive any form of compensation.
What statute of limitations applies to your claim? In California, personal injury claims, such as product liability claims, are subject to a two-year deadline. This means that affected parties only have two years to file their claims. Although this is a strict deadline, certain exceptions could apply – tolling the applicable deadline.
To ensure that you have a thorough understanding of the exact length of time that you have to pursue your claim, do not hesitate to contact our product liability experts for more information.
Contact Our Firm Today
Although Summer Infant claims that there have been no incidents associated with their inclined sleepers, it is possible that there have been unreported incidents. If your child was harmed because of a defective product, you might have grounds to sue based on product liability. You might have grounds to hold the liable company accountable for their negligence and the harm that your infant suffered. If you would like to explore the possibility of pursuing a claim, do not hesitate to contact Normandie Law Firm today.
Normandie Law Firm is a personal injury law firm with many years of experience handling all sorts of claims – including product liability claims. We are committed to representing all consumers who have been victimized by negligent companies. Our lawyers are ready to provide you with all the information that you need to take action and hold the liable company accountable for the harm that your child suffered. If you would like to discuss your claim with our experts, do not hesitate to contact our firm today.
At our firm, we are dedicated to remaining accessible to all. Therefore, we offer free legal services. Our free legal services include both free consultations and free second opinions. During our free consultations and free second opinions, our lawyers will be available to answer all your questions, address all your concerns, and provide you with all the information that you need pursue your claim. If you would like to benefit from our free legal services, you should contact the experts at our law firm immediately.
Our free legal services are available as part of a Zero-Fee guarantee that ensures that our clients will never be required to pay any upfront legal fees for our legal services. Our firm is also strictly based on contingency; therefore, our clients will not be required to pay anything until after reaching a positive claim outcome. Additionally, all legal expenses will be deducted from the compensation that is recovered, meaning that there will be no out-of-pocket costs. If you do not win, you will not be required to pay anything.
If you are ready to discuss your product liability claim with the experts at our firm, do not hesitate to contact Normandie Law Firm immediately.
