The Consumer Product Agency and other industry watchdogs have long advocated that portable sleepers are not an adequate replacement for a proper crib. There are many dangers to infants in sleeping situations where they could become entangled or trapped.
How are Infants at Risk
The National Institute of Health conducted a study in 2003 examining suffocation risks to infants. The agency found that when infants slept in beds and on surfaces that were not adequately designed for infants, there could be as much as a 20 fold risk of suffocation.
The following factors increase risk of suffocation in infants:
- excessive heating or cooling the child in bed, causing the child to kick at the covers and become trapped in the bedding
- loose sheets, blankets, covers which could tangle around the baby
- parental co-sleeping arrangements where a parent could roll over onto a child
- the baby getting trapped between bedding, small spaces between bedding and walls of a bed/ tent/ crib
- heavy blankets which could choke or asphyxiate a child
- loose ropes, cords, braids, and ribbons which could strangle a child
- small objects within reach of the child which they could choke on
The loss of a child is heartbreaking and awful. If your child has suffocated due to a potentially unsafe product, you could be entitled to compensation for your loss. You should contact a skilled personal injury and product liability attorney to preserve your rights and give you the help that you need.
