Fisher Price History of Infant Injuries & Deaths

A Consumer Reports investigation into the safety of the Fisher‐Price Rock’n Play Sleeper—a product designed and marketed for babies to sleep on an incline—found that it is tied to at least 32 infant deaths. Unexpected sleep deaths are the leading cause of accidental fatalities for children younger than 1 in the United States, killing 3,600 infants annually. The recall documents concerns about the product’s development and pushed for the recall after it obtained agency records about the deaths. Two weeks later, another 700,000 inclined sleepers made by another firm, Kids II, were recalled in relation to five additional deaths.

The federal government and Fisher‐Price on April 5 issued a warning about the product, which safety advocates believe does not go far enough. Medical experts say babies should be placed flat on their back alone and free of soft bedding—and not at an incline—to minimize the risk of accidental suffocation. Products such as the Fisher‐Price Rock’n Play Sleeper do not align with these recommendations.

The safety alert from the Consumer Product Safety Commission and Fisher‐Price includes a warning from the CPSC for consumers to stop using the product when infants turn 3 months old or “as soon as an infant exhibits rollover capabilities.”

The alert cites reports of “10 infant deaths in the Rock’n Play that have occurred since 2015, after the infants rolled from their back to their stomach or side, while unrestrained.”

Fisher‐Price confirmed that the company is aware of approximately 32 fatalities since the 2009 introduction of the Rock ’n Play Sleeper, including the 10 noted in the joint release with the CPSC.

• 2010 Fisher‐Price Trike Recall | 10 reports of incidents resulting in injury
• 2010 Fisher‐Price Recalls Healthy Care, Easy Clean & Close to Me High Chairs | 14 reports of injury
• 2009 Skull Fracture Prompts Recall of Fisher‐Price 3‐in‐1 high chairs
• 2009 Largest Crib Recall in US History: Stork Craft drop‐side cribs that bear the Fisher‐Price logo | 4 infants have died after becoming entrapped in the drop‐down side mechanism.

The first sketch of an inclined sleeper came from a Fisher-Price industrial designer named Linda Chapman. Chapman said in a deposition that the product’s original design was based on what she remembered from her interactions with her son’s doctor years earlier, when her newborn was suffering from reflux, a common issue that can cause spitting up and bouts of crying, according to a deposition transcript. She said her pediatrician recommended elevating her son’s head when he was sleeping.

Many parents, and a few doctors, still contend that an incline helps babies who have reflux. But medical studies have shown little support for this. In 2009, the same year the Rock’n Play debuted, two leading groups of pediatric gastroenterologists, building on accumulating evidence, released international consensus guidelines on managing stomach problems in babies, finding that elevating an infant’s head actually worsens gastric reflux. The American Academy of Pediatrics adopted the findings.

Chapman, who did not respond to a request for comment, said in her deposition she never checked her recollection of her doctor’s suggestion against up-to-date medical advice. “That’s not my job,” Chapman said.

That was the job of the safety committee, she said, which was led by Kitty Pilarz, a Fisher-Price engineer working as a product safety manager. Today, Pilarz is vice president of product safety and regulatory compliance for Fisher-Price. She did not respond to a request for comment.

In her deposition, Pilarz said Fisher-Price didn’t have medical professionals on staff.

The attorneys of Miller Weisbrod Olesky have the proven legal skill and experience to handle the complex evidentiary issues involved in a wide range of defective product liability litigation. If your infant was injured or tragically killed due to a defective consumer product, we encourage you to call our offices today at 214.987.0005 or toll free at 888.987.0005.