Though most parents assume their children are safe while they are in their cribs, injury or death can occur to a child who has been placed in a crib as a result of a defect in the crib, a defect in another product that is within the child’s reach while the child is in the crib, or the negligence of a child’s caregiver.
If your child has died or been injured while in a crib and you suspect your child’s injury or death was due to a defect in the crib, a defect in another product, and/or the negligence of someone who was entrusted with your child’s care, you may be entitled to compensation from the party or parties responsible. Child and crib injury attorney Jeff Killino has extensive experience and expertise with all types of child accident cases, including those arising out of injuries or deaths sustained by children in crib-related accidents. Contact The Killino Firm at 877-875-2927 for a free assessment of your case and additional information about your legal options.
Legal Liability for Crib Injuries or Deaths Caused by Negligence or Defective Products
Children’s crib injuries and deaths may occur as a result of the negligence of persons or entities entrusted with a child’s care in the absence of the child’s parents, defects in a crib itself, or exposure or access to dangerous products placed in or close to a crib. In some cases, the negligence of caregivers as well as defects in a crib or other product may combine to cause a child’s crib injury or death.
Liability for Crib Injuries or Deaths Caused by Negligence
Daycare center employees, nannies, and babysitters (who may include relatives, friends, or neighbors of a child’s parent or parents) often take on the responsibility for a child’s care when the child’s parents are unavailable. When the child is young enough to be placed in a crib by a caregiver, injury or death to the child may occur as a result of a caregiver’s negligence.
An individual who is entrusted with the care of a child has a duty to exercise reasonable care for the child’s safety and health during all times the child is under the person’s care. Common examples of caregiver negligence that may result in a crib injury or death to a child include:
- knowingly placing a child in a defective or broken crib
- placing a child in a crib with a loose mattress that may allow the child to be caught between the mattress and a side of the crib
- placing pillows or large stuffed animals in a crib with a child
- placing a crib near dangerous objects that can fall on a child or be pulled down by a child
- placing objects within a child’s reach that pose a strangulation or choking hazard to the child
A caregiver as well as the company that employs the caregiver may be found liable for crib injuries or deaths caused by the caregiver’s negligence. Employers may be found vicariously, or indirectly, liable for injuries or deaths caused by an employee’s negligence while the employee was caring for the child. Employers may also be found directly liable for such injuries or deaths if the employer is determined to have been negligent in the screening, hiring, training, and/or retaining of the negligent employee.
Liability for Crib Injuries and Deaths Caused by Defects in Cribs and Other Products
Cribs, as well as objects often placed near or in cribs, may pose hazards to children as a result of product defects. Federal law requires crib manufacturers to adhere to certain standards in the design and manufacture of children’s cribs, including standards relating to the distance between crib slats and the coating of crib surfaces with lead-containing paint. Even when a crib has been manufactured in accordance with current federal standards, however, it may be considered defective under product liability law.
The product liability law of most states imposes liability for injuries and deaths caused by defects in products on the manufacturers and others involved in the design, production, and distribution of such products. When product liability actions are brought to recover damages for a person’s injury or death, they are generally brought as strict liability claims. The strict liability form of product liability actions allows a plaintiff to establish the liability of certain defendants without having to prove that any of the defendants were negligent in producing the product or in releasing it to consumers. Thus, the designers, manufacturers, suppliers, assemblers, distributors, and retailers of cribs may be found strictly liable for the injuries or deaths caused to children as a result of crib defects.
Defects in other products within a child’s reach may also cause a child’s crib injury or death and result in strict liability on the part of the manufacturers and others involved in the production and distribution of such products. Children’s crib toys, lamps, or other products with cords, strings, and small parts, for instance, may cause strangulation or choking injuries to a child who is given access to such products while in a crib. The manufacturers and others in the chain of distribution of such products may, thus, be found strictly liable for injuries or deaths determined to have been caused by defects in these products.
Contact Us
If your child has been injured or killed in a crib accident as a result of a defect in the crib or other product or through someone’s negligence, child injury and crib injury attorney Jeffrey Killino can help you obtain the compensation you deserve. Contact attorney Jeffrey B. Killino at 877-875-2927 for expert and experienced assistance with your case.
