http://www.yourlawyer.com/topics/overview/bumbo_baby_sitter_seat_recall Sat, 21 Nov 2009 15:47:55 -0800 pixel-app en http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/13268 Mon, 29 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/13268 Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat recall is being criticized by consumer advocates for not being a recall at all.  That’s because instead allowing people to return the defective infant  seat for a refund, the manufacturer of the Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat is only offering consumers a new warning label and instructions for what it says is proper usage of the seat.  Some consumer groups are saying that remedy is not enough, especially considering that the Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat has caused serious head injuries to three children, and minor injuries to dozens more.

The Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat, sold by Bumbo International of South Africa, is a soft foam chair that is supposed to allow infants to sit upright without the aid of straps.  It is designed with the seat lower than the leg openings so that children will remain secure.  The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) began investigating the Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat earlier this month, after several media outlets reported on children who were severely injured after falling from the seat.  According to the CPSC, three children received skull fractures due to falls from the Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat, and at least twenty five were involved in falls from the defective seat.

As part of the Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat recall, Bumbo International will be sending new warning stickers that read “WARNING – Prevent Falls; Never use on any elevated surface.”  Those warning stickers will also be added to all Bumbo Baby Sitter Seats sold in the future.  The children most seriously injured were sitting in Bumbo Baby Sitter Seats that were placed on raised surfaces, like tables.   Bumbo International has conceded that some of its packaging and marketing materials that showed pictures of the Bumbo seat being used on a raised surface could have contributed to injuries from Bumbo seat falls.  But the company insists that the Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat is safe when used correctly.

But some parents of children injured by the Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat do not agree with the company’s assessment.  According to Consumer Affairs.com, some children have been injured by the Bumbo Seat while it was being used at ground level.  One mother told the website that her child sustained a large bruise after tumbling out of a Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat that was on the floor.  This mom was sitting right next to her daughter, who weighed well below the 22-lb limit for the Bumbo Seat when she fell out and smacked her head on the floor.

What’s more, the lack of a true recall means that the defective Baby Bumbo Sitter Seat is still being sold.  While most large retailers like Toys ‘R’ Us and Target have taken the item off their websites, it can still be found on sites like eBay and PassportBaby. According to Consumer Affairs.com, PassportBaby is even advertising the Bumbo Seat as a place “Baby can sit happily while you make dinner,” even though it has been proven that close supervision is necessary to keep a child safe in a  Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat.  

Clearly, the Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat “recall” is not going to be enough to keep babies safe from this defective product.   Removing  the Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat from the market until the manufacturer comes up with a safer design is the only effective way to deal with this dangerous product.

]]> http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/13263 Fri, 26 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/13263 Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat marketing campaign used photos that showed babies in seats that had been placed on raised surfaces.  Now it seems that those pictures left many parents with a false sense of security.   That’s because these photographs of the  Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat in action led many consumers to believe that their children could not fall from the infant seat regardless of where it was placed – an assumption that has proven tragically wrong.

The Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat, sold by Bumbo International of South Africa, is a soft foam chair that is supposed to allow infants to sit upright without the aid of straps.  It is designed with the seat lower than the leg openings so that children will remain secure.  The Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) began investigating the Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat earlier this month, after several media outlets reported on children who were severely injured after falling from the seat.  These reports included two children from Kansas and California who suffered from skull fractures after falling out of a Bumbo Seat.  

The children who sustained the most serious injuries from the Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat had been in the infant seat when it was placed on a counter or some other raised surface.  Now it appears that Bumbo International’s marketing efforts may have confused parents about the proper way in which to use the Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat.  While the Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat does have a small warning label that says “never use on a raised surface”, some of its marketing materials send a different message.  These materials say the chair is safe on “any level surface”, and some of the pictures used by the company show children sitting in the Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat on a raised surface.   The website also showed pictures of babies in the seat on a picnic table and playing the piano.  Some of those pictures were removed from the website after reports of Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat accidents were publicized, but by then, at least 28 children had fallen from the Bumbo seat and three had suffered skull fractures.

Those injuries have prompted the CPSC to recall about 1 million Bumbo Baby Sitter Seats.  The recalled Bumbo Baby Sitter Seats were sold in various retail, toy and children’s stores nationwide, and online, from August 2003 through October 2007 for about $40.  The bottom of the Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat is round and flat and about 15 inches in diameter.  The Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat is made of a single piece of molded foam, and comes in the colors yellow, blue, purple, pink, aqua, and lime.   On the front of the seat in raised lettering is the word “Bumbo” with the image of an elephant.   The bottom of the seat has the following words: “Manufactured by Bumbo South Africa Material: Polyurethane World Patent No. PCT: ZA/1999/00030.”
 
The CPSC is warning caregivers not to use the Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat on any raised surface.   Anyone who purchased a Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat should contact Bumbo for a new warning sticker that reads “WARNING – Prevent Falls; Never use on any elevated surface.”  Those warning stickers will also be added to all Bumbo Baby Sitter Seats sold in the future.  Bumbo International can be contacted by calling (877) 932-8626 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or by visiting the firm’s Web site at www.bumbosafety.com

]]> http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/13255 Thu, 25 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/13255 Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) today, following reports that several children had suffered serious injuries after falling from the popular infant seat.  According to the CPSC, at least 28 children have fallen from the Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat, and three of those infants suffered skull fractures.

The Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat recall involves more than 1 million of the infant seats.  The recalled Bumbo Baby Sitter Seats were sold in various retail, toy and children’s stores nationwide, and online, from August 2003 through October 2007 for about $40.  The bottom of the Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat is round and flat and about 15 inches in diameter.  The Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat is made of a single piece of molded foam, and comes in the colors yellow, blue, purple, pink, aqua, and lime.   On the front of the seat in raised lettering is the word “Bumbo” with the image of an elephant.   The bottom of the seat has the following words: “Manufactured by Bumbo South Africa Material: Polyurethane World Patent No. PCT: ZA/1999/00030.”

The Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat, sold by Bumbo International of South Africa, is a soft foam chair that is supposed to allow infants to sit upright without the aid of straps.  It is designed with the seat lower than the leg openings so that children will remain secure.  The CPSC began investigating the Baby Bumbo Seat earlier this month, after several media outlets reported on children who were severely injured after falling from the seat.  These reports included two children from Kansas and California who suffered from skull fractures after falling out of a Baby Bumbo Seat.  

According to various media sources, infants have fallen out of the seats when they reach for something, causing the Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat to tilt off balance.  If the Bumbo Seat is on the floor when it tips, most children are fine.  But, if a parent or caregiver has placed the Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat on a counter, another chair, or any high surface, the results could be disastrous.  While the Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat does have a small warning label that says “never use on a raised surface”, some of its marketing materials send a different message.  These materials say the chair is safe on “any level surface”, and some of the pictures used by the company show children sitting in the Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat on a raised surface.   The website also showed pictures of babies in the seat on a picnic table and playing the piano.  Some of those pictures were removed from the website after reports of Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat accidents were publicized.

The CPSC is warning caregivers not to use the Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat on any raised surface.   Anyone who purchased a Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat should contact Bumbo for a new warning sticker that reads “WARNING – Prevent Falls; Never use on any elevated surface.”  Those warning stickers will also be added to all Bumbo Baby Sitter Seats sold in the future.  Bumbo International can be contacted by calling (877) 932-8626 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or by visiting the firm’s Web site at www.bumbosafety.com

]]> http://www.yourlawyer.com/topics/overview/bumbo_baby_sitter_seat_recall Thu, 25 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.yourlawyer.com/topics/overview/bumbo_baby_sitter_seat_recall Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat Recall Bumbo Brand "Baby Sitter" Child Seat Injuries
In October 2007, Bumbo Baby Sitter Seats were recalled by the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) because several children sustained serious head injuries after falling from the seats.   The CPSC began investigating the Bumbo Baby Sitter Seats after media reports circulated about the popular infant seat’s injury causing hazards.

Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat Blamed for Serious Head Injuries
The Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat, sold by Bumbo International of South Africa, is a soft foam chair that is supposed to allow infants to sit upright without the aid of straps.  It is designed with the seat lower than the leg openings so that children will remain secure.  However, the Bumbo Baby Sitter Seats did not always work as intended.  Prior to the recall, several media outlets reported on children who had been seriously injured by falls from the Bumbo Baby Sitter Seats.  According to those reports, two children in California and Kansas fell from a Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat placed on a counter.  Both cracked their skulls, and the baby in California needed emergency surgery to save his life.

According to the CPSC, at least 28 children have fallen out of Bumbo Baby Sitter Seats, and three sustained serious injuries.  Those injuries occurred when the Bumbo Baby Sitter Seats was placed on a raised surface such as a counter or a table.  While the Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat does have a small warning label that says “never use on a raised surface”, some of its marketing materials send a different message.  These materials say the chair is safe on “any level surface”, and some of the pictures used by the company show children sitting in the Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat on a raised surface.   

Over 1 Million Bumbo Baby Sitter Seats Recalled by Bumbo International
The Bumbo Baby Sitter Seats seat recall involved more than 1 million of the infant seats.  The recalled Bumbo Baby Sitter Seats were sold in various retail, toy and children’s stores nationwide, and online, from August 2003 through October 2007 for about $40.  The bottom of the Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat is round and flat and about 15 inches in diameter.  The Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat is made of a single piece of molded foam, and comes in the colors yellow, blue, purple, pink, aqua, and lime.   On the front of the seat in raised lettering is the word “Bumbo” with the image of an elephant.   The bottom of the seat has the following words: “Manufactured by Bumbo South Africa Material: Polyurethane World Patent No. PCT: ZA/1999/00030.”  

The CPSC warned consumers not to use the Bumbo Baby Sitter Seats on a raised surface such as a table or countertop.   Consumers were directed by the CPSC to contact Bumbo for new warning label stickers and instructions.   The new warning label stated: “WARNING – Prevent Falls; Never use on any elevated surface.”

Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat Injury Lawsuit Lawyers
If a child you know has been injured by a fall from a Bumbo Baby Sitter Seats infant seat, they may have valuable legal rights.  Please fill out the form at the right for a free case review by a qualified attorney.]]>