The Bumbo Baby Sitter seat has become a mass-selling item for many new parents. However, some advocacy groups are demanding a recall of the product, claiming parents who place their children in it are risking a child injury on Long Island and elsewhere.
While those groups wait from a response from the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission, our Long Island child injury attorneys want to urge parents to practice extreme caution when using these seats – or maybe consider not using them at all.
A number of media reports are questioning the safety of the seat, when in the last 5 years, nearly 100 children were reported to have been injured after falling from the seat. Out of those, 45 had been placed on higher surface (such as a counter top or table), and 17 had a serious skull fracture. Another 50 of the infants were in the seat when it was placed on the floor. Of those, two had skull fractures and another had a concussion.
These injuries all occurred in the five years, following a voluntary recall in 2007 when it was determined the South African manufacturer didn’t offer enough warning to parents about the dangers of placing the seat on a high surface. At that point, the seats had been on the market for four years. Now, warning labels are printed on the side of every seat. While a spokesman for the company says the a number of the recent injuries involve older seats, an even greater portion of them are reported to involve the newer seats.
Additionally, some media outlets are reporting that even on the newer seats, the warning labels might seem small or have come off.
As of right now, there aren’t any federal safety standards for chairs that are made for children. Two parents in Texas, though, are suing the maker of the seat, after their child was injured after a fall.
The seats, which are made of foam and come in an array of bright colors, are popular with parents who want to give their children a chance to sit upright early on.
The company maintains that if the seat is used as intended, a fall from it wouldn’t be any different than the typical bumps and bruises a child might incur while learning to crawl or sit or walk.
Some parents, though, tell a much different story.
One mother recalled she had placed her young daughter in the Bumbo seat, and put it on top of a picnic table, where she was feeding her. The infant toppled out, only narrowly escaping serious injury.
Another parent said his young son had to undergo brain surgery after falling from the seat. He was standing right next to his son at the time. The father said his son arched his back, and the Bumbo seat tiled backward, causing his son to fall. He had to be airlifted to a nearby hospital.
The child is recovering, his parents say, though it’s not yet clear if he may suffer from a long-term traumatic brain injury.
Contact the New York defective product accident attorneys at the Law Offices of Nicholas Rose, PLLC, for a free consultation to discuss your claim when a child has been injured in a Bumbo seat accident. We represent victims in Queens, Manhattan and throughout New York so call 1-877-313-ROSE (7673) to speak to an experienced injury lawyer today.
Contact the New York defective product accident attorneys at the Law Offices of Nicholas Rose, PLLC, for a free consultation to discuss your claim when a child has been injured in a Bumbo seat accident. We represent victims in Queens, Manhattan and throughout New York so call 1-877-313-ROSE (7673) to speak to an experienced injury lawyer today.
Additional Resources:
Injuries still occur after Bumbo baby seat recall, By Michael Finney, ABC-7 San Francisco
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