July 19, 2003
Evenflo Co. has agreed to pay $2.6 million to the family of an 8-month-old boy who was killed when Evenflo's "Happy Camper" portable crib asphyxiated him. Sears, which sold the crib, was also a party to the settlement.
Jared Adams of Antioch, Ill., was killed in April 1997 when a hinge on the crib's top rail collapsed, trapping his chest in the V-shaped rails that were formed by the two halves of the collapsed rail. He had been placed in the crib while his grandmother babysat.
Evenflo sold 1.2 million of the cribs between 1989 and 1997. The company issued a recall for the Happy Camper and other models two months after Jared's death. Other companies have recalled similar cribs.
Jared's mother, Pamela Adams, said she hopes that news of the settlement raises awareness about the dangers of the Happy Camper and other portable cribs, which have killed at least 15 children in the United States.
After the rash of deaths and injuries, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission devised a new voluntary standard for crib design. Cribs must now have locking center hinges that can withstand 100 pounds of weight.
However, it took seven years from the first known portable crib death in 1991 until the new standards were finally adopted. CPSC officials say it took a long time because there were so many manufacturers involved.
Meanwhile, consumer advocates note that thousands of portable cribs without the locking hinges are still in use. Such items are frequently sold at garage sales, at second-hand stores and simply handed down from one family member to another. Baby-care items are also sold on eBay, which does nothing to ensure that products have not been recalled for safety reasons.
"The manufacturers don't do enough to get the word out," Ms. Adams said. "We're probably going to see another death."
