Retailers pull Simplicity bassinets from shelves

WASHINGTON – Six major retailers are pulling from their shelves Simplicity bassinets linked to the deaths of two babies after a company refused to recall the infant beds.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Toys “R” Us Inc., Kmart Corp., Big Lots, Target and J.C. Penney have recalled the “close-sleeper/bedside sleeper” because the products pose a strangulation hazard, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The recall affects nearly 900,000 bassinets.

Last week a 6-month-old girl from Shawnee, Kan., was strangled when she became trapped between the bassinet’s metal bars. Last September, a 4-month-old girl from Noel, Mo., became trapped in the product’s metal bars and died.

SFCA Inc., the company that purchased the assets of Reading, Pa.-based Simplicity Inc. earlier this year, has refused to recall the products. SFCA maintains that it is not responsible for products previously manufactured by Simplicity.

The CPSC says the Simplicity 3-in-1 and 4-in-1 convertible bassinets have metal bars spaced farther apart than the maximum 2 3/8 inches allowed under federal crib safety standards. The bars are covered by an adjustable fabric flap that is attached by Velcro, which can fall if not properly attached and allow an infant to slide between the bars.

Julie Vallese, a CPSC spokeswoman, said consumers should return the bassinets to the store where they were purchased for a full refund or store credit.

Simplicity recalled about 1 million cribs on Sept. 21, 2007, after reports of three deaths and seven babies who had become trapped in its cribs. Rick Locker, a lawyer for SFCA, said the recall put Simplicity out of business.