Attention Parents: A Nationwide Recall Has Been Issued for Bacterial Contamination of 10 Brands of Baby Wipes

Parents around the country use baby wipes on their infants and young toddlers many times a day, never suspecting that these products may be unsanitary or unsafe for use on a baby’s or child’s skin. Though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for the inspection and approval of these products, tainted and otherwise unsafe baby wipes may still be manufactured and sold to trusting parents.

On October 25, 2014, the FDA announced the nationwide recall by Nutek Disposables, Inc., of every lot of baby wipes manufactured by the company under the following 10 brand names:

baby wipe recall

  • Cuties
  • Diapers.com
  • Femtex
  • Fred’s
  • Kidgets
  • Member’s Mark
  • Simply Right
  • Sunny Smiles
  • Tender Touch
  • Well Beginnings

The wipes were distributed to Walgreens, Sam’s Club, Family Dollar, Fred’s, and Diapers.com retail stores and are being recalled after discovery in some of the wipes of bacteria called Burkholderia cepacia (B. cepacia), which pose a risk of health problems, particularly to people with weakened immune systems or chronic lung diseases. Nutek has received reports of rashes, irritation, infections, fevers, gastro-intestinal issues, and respiratory issues that may be connected to use of these wipes. The company urges anyone who has used one of the wipes to obtain immediate medical advice and to return the wipes to the place of purchase for a full refund.

However, if you have used any of these wipes and even suspect that the wipes may have sickened or injured your child, DO NOT return the wipes to the manufacturer. Hold on to them, preserve them in the state they are in, and seek the prompt assistance of an attorney who can address the important issues of evidence preservation and testing.

Tainted and unsanitary baby products can cause serious injury and even death to babies and older children on whom they are used. If you suspect that your child was injured or sickened through exposure to an unsafe baby product such as a baby wipe or other product applied to a child’s skin, you may be entitled to compensation from the product’s manufacturer, wholesaler, retailer, and others. Child-injury attorney Jeffrey Killino and his team of child-injury lawyers and paralegals have extensive experience with child-injury cases, including those arising out of injuries or deaths caused by exposure to or use of defective children’s or baby’s products. Contact our highly-regarded
child-injury lawyers for more information about your legal rights and options.

Legal Responsibility for Injuries and Deaths Caused by Defective Baby’s or Children’s Products

Manufacturers and retailers of baby’s and children’s products are held to a duty of care for the safety of all those who use their products. When a baby or child has been sickened or otherwise injured or killed through the use of or exposure to a defective children’s product, the manufacturer, retailer, and others involved in the product’s production and sale may be held strictly liable for the damages suffered by a child and/or his family as a result of the child’s injury or death.

Strict liability is liability without the need to prove negligence or other fault on the part of a defendant. As long as a product is found to be defective in its design, manufacture, or as a result of the failure to warn consumers of certain dangers associated with the product’s use, product-liability defendants may be held responsible for injuries and deaths caused by a product’s defect even if they were not negligent in producing the defective product or in releasing it for sale.

Due to the vulnerability to injury from unsafe products applied to the skin, strict liability was imposed on manufacturers and sellers of products intended for intimate bodily use (such as baby wipes and lotions) even before such liability was extended to manufacturers and sellers of non-intimate and non-food products such as cars, televisions, stoves, and similar items. The presence of the bacteria in Nutek’s or another manufacturer’s baby wipes could be due to poor manufacturing practices and/or unsanitary conditions, which would be considered a manufacturing defect under product-liability law. Products such as baby wipes may also be considered to contain a manufacturing defect if the products are packaged in a manner that renders them susceptible to the growth of bacteria or other contamination.

Under the Restatement of Torts (Second), Section 402A, which is followed in most states’ product-liability cases, anyone who uses a contaminated baby wipe may be entitled to recover damages for injuries or death suffered as a result. Thus, if someone purchased a package of contaminated baby wipes from a retailer and gave it to a friend or relative, the friend or relative may be able to recover damages from the retailer and others involved in the production and distribution of the contaminated baby wipes for injury or death caused by their use. In addition, if the original purchaser used some of the wipes from a package and later gave some from the same package to a friend without altering their condition, both the purchaser and the friend may be entitled to damages for injuries suffered by each through use of the wipes.

Obtain Expert Assistance from Child-injury Attorney Jeffrey Killino

Child-injury attorney Jeffrey Killino has been recognized nationwide for his expertise with child-injury cases and his dedication to holding all those responsible for children’s preventable injuries and deaths accountable through legal action. Call attorney Jeff Killino at the Child Injury Firm for experienced and aggressive assistance with your child-injury case.