The Legal Examiner Affiliate Network The Legal Examiner The Legal Examiner The Legal Examiner search instagram avvo phone envelope checkmark mail-reply spinner error close The Legal Examiner The Legal Examiner The Legal Examiner
Skip to main content

If you're using one of the Nap Nannys made by manufacturer Baby Matters LLC of Berwyn, Pennsylvania, you may want to think twice about putting your child in the recliner again. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), they've received more than 70 complaints of children falling out of these baby chairs, and are aware of at least five infant deaths associated with them.

The CPSC recently announced that they're taking the manufacturer to court for failing to voluntarily recall the products.

What is a Nap Nanny?

Designed to help babies sleep, rest, and play, the foam rubber Nap Nanny and Nap Nanny Chill recliners are reportedly designed to increase comfort and improve infant sleep. The Baby Matters website describes the product as mimicking the contours of a car seat and the comfort of a baby blanket, while featuring "maximum stability," allowing infants to rest peacefully. Nap Nannies are supposedly ideal for playtime and rest, for babies who don’t like to sleep flat, and for feeding twins.

Though the company warns that the product should always be used with the safety harness securely fastened, the CPSC states that most babies who have been injured by the product were wearing the harness.

Not the First Report of Problems

In July 2010, the CPSC recalled the Nap Nanny Generation One recliner, after the first infant death was reported. At that time, the organization had received 22 reports of infant injuries. But now the government says that Baby Matters hasn't done enough to warn consumers of the risks, because four more infants have now died in the Nap Nanny Generation Two recliners, and one more death involved the Chill model.

As the CPSC typically does, the CPSC has apparently been in talks to come up with a voluntary recall plan to address what it feels are hazards associated with the use of the products. However, these discussions broke down before an agreement could be reached.

The CPSC Wants Refunds

Now, the CPSC has filed an administrative complaint against Baby Matters, seeking to notify the public about the risks associated with the product. They also want the company to offer consumers a full refund.

Nap Nanny disagrees with the CPSC. Their website states that they do not believe the complaint from the organization has merit, and that they stand behind the safety of their products "when used as instructed." They also question the circumstances of the infant injuries, stating that they are heartbroken for the families, "but the fact that infants have died 'while using' the Nap Nanny improperly, such as when used in a crib or where a child could suffocate on a crib bumper or blanket, does not mean our product caused the child's death or is hazardous."

The CPSC counters by stating that the foam-rubber recliners have defects in design, warnings, and instructions, which pose a substantial risk of injury and death to infants. It is hard to imagine how even the risk of death or injury to even one innocent baby is worth the added value of this product to society. Parents who have children who have been injured by Nap Nanny products may benefit from a consultation with a product liability lawyer.

Comments for this article are closed.