phil&teds USA is recalling its Clip-On Chairs following a number of injury reports, including an amputation, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), just announced.
The 54,000 recalled “metoo” Clip-on Chairs were previously discussed in a May 6, 2011 product safety alert, which can be accessed here.
Missing or worn clamp pads on the defective metoo Clip enable the chairs to detach from an array of table surfaces, posing a fall hazard. In addition, when the chair detaches, children’s fingers can get caught between the bar and clamping mechanism, which poses an amputation hazard. User instructions for the metoo Clip-On Chairs are also insufficient, which increases the potential of consumer misuse.
The metoo Clip-On Chairs were manufactured in China and imported by phil&teds USA Inc, of Fort Collins, Colorado. The defective chairs were sold through Buy Buy Baby, Target, Toys R Us and their online sites; philandteds.com; Amazon.com; other online retailers; and a variety of independent juvenile specialty stores from May 2006 to May 2011 for between $40 and $50.
phil&teds and CPSC received a total of 19 reports of the chairs falling from different table surfaces; five reports involved injuries. Two injury reports involved children’s fingers being severely pinched, lacerated, crushed, or amputated; three other injury reports involved bruising after a chair abruptly detached and a child struck the table or floor.
The recalled chair is an infant/toddler chair with a nylon fabric seat and a metal frame that clamps onto tables using two metal vise clamps. The upper part of each clamp rests on the tabletop and has a rubber pad on its underside or a rubber boot covering the clamp. The chair is sold in three fabric colors: Red, black, and navy. Chairs involved in the recall do not have black plastic spacers between the cross bar and the clamps.
The firm is advising consumers to immediately stop using the defective chair and contact the company to receive a free repair kit and revised user instructions. Consumers who previously received a repair kit with only rubber boots should also stop using the chair and contact the company for the new repair kit.
phil&teds USA can be reached, toll-free, at 1.855.652.9019 or at the company’s website at www.philandteds.com/support.
Last month, we wrote the CPSC and Health Canada (HC) announced that Explorer and Hammerhead Strollers—which were imported by phil&teds USA Inc, of Fort Collins, Colorado and sold online at philandteds.com, pishposhbaby.com, and albeebaby.com, and at Babies R Us and specialty juvenile retailers in the United States and Canada—were recalled. The defective strollers, which were manufactured in China, were recalled over faulty breaks and involved nearly 10,000 defective strollers in the U.S. and Canada.
