Child Death Prompts Recall of Stage and Riser Caddies

A child’s death has led to the recall of Midwest Folding Products’ Stage and Riser Caddies, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) just announced.

About 5,300 Stage and Riser Caddies were recalled due to risk of injury and death to consumers. The caddy’s latches do not automatically close to secure the stages and risers when stored. Unsecured stages and risers can fall off the caddies and onto consumers.

Sadly, last May, a three-year-old girl died in Greenville, South Carolina from severe head trauma when a portion of a portable stage fell out of the caddy and onto her at a church.

This recall involves Midwest Folding Products’ caddies that are used to store collapsible stages and risers when they are not in use. The caddies are brown, gray, or black metal and measure 44 inches in length by 30 inches in width by 60 inches in height. They hold six 96-inch long, or eight 48- to 72-inch long, stage or riser platforms. Yellow caution and instruction labels can be found on the caddy’s frame.

The recalled Midwest Folding Products’ caddies were sold by dealers to churches, schools, performing arts centers, and various other organizations, nationwide and online at www.midwestfolding.com, from January 1989 through March 2012. The caddies sold for about $1,200.

Midwest Folding Products is directly contacting known purchasers of the caddies and advises caddy owners and consumers to immediately stop using the recalled stage and riser caddies. Caddy owners should contact Midwest Folding Products to receive a free repair kit with new brackets that will allow latches to automatically return to the closed position on the caddies, as well as new white warning and instruction labels.

Midwest Folding Products can be reached, toll-free, at 1.800.621.4716 between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Central Time (CT), or at the firm’s web site at www.midwestfolding.com.