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CPSC and Fisher-Price warned consumers June 14, 2022 about 13 reported infant deaths in the rockers between 2009 and 2021. [1] Fisher-Price sold over 17 million rockers worldwide since the 1990s without recalling products despite knowing of fatal incidents. [1] CPSC advised rockers should never be used for sleep and infants should never be unsupervised or unrestrained due to suffocation risk. [1]
Thirteen Infant Deaths Over Twelve Years
Deaths occurred between 2009 and 2021 while infants were in Fisher-Price rockers. The twelve-year death toll demonstrates ongoing hazards Fisher-Price failed to address through recalls or design modifications.
No Recall Despite Fatalities
Fisher-Price issued warnings instead of recalling products after 13 deaths. This unprecedented response leaves millions of dangerous rockers in homes without remedy or compensation for affected families.
Over 17 Million Rockers Sold
Fisher-Price distributed more than 17 million rockers worldwide since the 1990s. Massive sales created extensive infant exposure to suffocation hazards across decades.
Unsupervised and Unrestrained Infants
Deaths occurred when infants were left unsupervised or unrestrained in rockers. Parents using rockers as marketed—for soothing and rocking—could not constantly monitor sleeping infants.
Inclined Sleep Surface Hazard
Rockers feature inclined surfaces unsafe for infant sleep. CPSC finalized rules effective June 23, 2022 requiring infant sleep products have sleep surface angles of 10 degrees or less.
Suffocation Risk from Positioning
Inclined positioning causes infants’ heads to fall forward, obstructing airways. Soft padding and angled surfaces create positional asphyxiation hazards leading to suffocation deaths.
Bedding Material Dangers
Infants left in rockers with bedding material face increased suffocation risk. Blankets, pillows, and padding combine with inclined angles to block infant airways.
Failure to Move Sleeping Infants
Parents who allowed infants to fall asleep in rockers without transferring them to flat surfaces unwittingly created fatal situations. Fisher-Price marketed rockers for soothing, making sleep a foreseeable use.
Safe Sleep Standards Violation
Safe infant sleep requires firm, flat surfaces in cribs, bassinets, or play yards. Rockers violate these standards by providing inclined, padded surfaces that concentrate infants in unsafe positions.
Decades of Sales Before Warnings
Fisher-Price sold rockers since the 1990s without adequate sleep warnings. The 2022 warning came after decades of sales and at least 13 deaths.
Pattern of Dangerous Inclined Products
Fisher-Price previously recalled Rock ‘n Play sleepers after 30+ deaths and Rock ‘n Glide soothers after 4 deaths. The company’s continued production of inclined infant products demonstrates disregard for established suffocation risks.
Warning Instead of Recall Strategy
Fisher-Price’s decision to warn rather than recall shifts responsibility to consumers while leaving hazardous products in circulation. This strategy protects corporate profits over infant lives.
Inadequate Warning Distribution
Warnings issued in 2022 cannot reach consumers who purchased rockers in the 1990s, 2000s, or 2010s. Millions of rockers remain in use without owners receiving safety warnings.
Design Defect Liability
Infant rockers causing 13 deaths over 12 years are defectively designed. Products marketed for infant use must prevent foreseeable misuse including sleep.
Failure to Warn About Sleep Dangers
Fisher-Price failed to adequately warn that rockers are unsafe for sleep for decades. Marketing emphasized soothing and calming, suggesting sleep as natural outcome without sufficient hazard warnings.
Wrongful Death Claims
Families of 13 deceased infants may pursue wrongful death litigation for funeral expenses, emotional distress, loss of companionship, and punitive damages. Deaths occurring across 12 years demonstrate Fisher-Price’s knowledge and continued sales despite known hazards.
Manufacturing Defect in Safety Systems
Rockers lacking adequate restraint systems and featuring inclined angles contain manufacturing defects. Products must incorporate safety features preventing positional asphyxiation in all foreseeable use scenarios.
Negligent Failure to Recall
Fisher-Price’s refusal to recall rockers after 13 deaths constitutes negligence. Manufacturers learning of fatal defects have duty to remove dangerous products from market.
Breach of Implied Warranty
Fisher-Price breached implied warranties by selling infant products unfit for marketed purposes. Rockers causing suffocation deaths fail basic safety standards for baby equipment.
Violation of Infant Sleep Product Standards
Rockers violate CPSC’s 2022 infant sleep product rule requiring angles of 10 degrees or less. Fisher-Price’s inclined rockers fail federal safety standards designed to prevent suffocation deaths.
Punitive Damages for Knowing Misconduct
Fisher-Price’s pattern of inclined product deaths—Rock ‘n Play, Rock ‘n Glide, Infant-to-Toddler Rockers—followed by warnings instead of recalls supports punitive damages. Choosing warnings over recalls after 13 deaths demonstrates conscious disregard for infant safety warranting severe penalties.
Inadequate Product Testing
Fisher-Price failed to adequately test rockers for positional asphyxiation risks during sleep. Reasonable testing requires monitoring infant positioning, airway patency, and oxygen levels during extended unsupervised use.
Economic Motivation Over Safety
Recalling 17 million rockers would cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Fisher-Price’s warning-only approach prioritizes profits over preventing additional infant deaths.
Contact an Attorney
If your infant died from suffocation, positional asphyxiation, or oxygen deprivation in Fisher-Price Infant-to-Toddler Rockers or Newborn-to-Toddler Rockers, contact a product liability attorney immediately. Preserve the rocker, purchase receipts, medical records, death certificates, autopsy reports documenting asphyxiation or suffocation, incident reports filed with CPSC or Fisher-Price, and photographs showing infant positioning in the product.
References
1. https://www.cpsc.gov/Newsroom/News-Releases/2022/CPSC-and-Fisher-Price-Warn-Consumers-About-13-Deaths-in-Fisher-Price-Infant-to-Toddler-and-Newborn-to-Toddler-Rockers-Advise-Rockers-Should-Never-Be-Used-for-Sleep