Recall Issued For Baby Monitors After Two Babies Strangle To Death

On February 11, a recall was issued for nearly two million Summer Infant video baby monitors after they were linked to two cases of infants suffering fatal personal injuries due to strangulation.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the electrical cords on the monitors can be dangerous for babies if placed too close to their cribs.

The CPSC said that in March, a 10-month-old girl from Washington, D.C., died from being strangled on the cord of a Summer Infant monitor camera that had been placed on the top of the crib rail. In November, a 6-month-old boy from Conway, South Carolina strangled in the cord of a monitor placed on the changing table attached to his crib.

The CPSC and Summer Infant are also aware of an incident in which a 20-month old boy from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania nearly strangled on a cord from a monitor mounted on the wall in the child’s reach.

Commission Chairman Inez Tenenbaum says cords and kids can be a deadly combination. She said that there should be at least three feet of space between children in cribs and electrical cords.

The recall affects approximately 1.7 million monitors, including more than 40 different models.

Summer Infant, based out of Woonsocket, Rhode Island, plans to provide new warning labels on the product and new instructions concerning monitor placement.

The monitors in question were sold nationwide at major retailers between 2003 and 2011.