Mattel Inc. and its subsidiary Fisher-Price were hit with two wrongful death lawsuits by two sets of parents who claim the company’s Rock ‘N Play Sleeper was defective and caused the deaths of their babies, according to Law360.
In April 2019, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) warned consumers that the sleepers had been linked to at least 10 infant deaths since 2015. CPSC cautioned parents and caregivers not to put infants older than 3 months of age or infants unrestrained in the sleepers because babies could roll over and fall out of the sleeper. Despite warnings and reports of injuries and deaths of infants linked to the Rock ‘N Play Sleeper involving asphyxiation, twisted neck syndrome, and flat head syndrome, Fisher-Price refused to recall the device until a Consumer Reports analysis linked the sleeper to 32 infant deaths from 2011 to 2018.
Mattel and Fisher-Price have since been hit with multiple proposed class-action lawsuits over the Rock ‘N Play alleging the companies knew of the potential risks with the device but continued to sell them.
The two most recent wrongful death lawsuits were filed in California state court. One involves the case of Sara and William Jeffrey Thompson who claim the sleeper caused the death of their son William on Sept. 23, 2011. The other involves the case of Courtney and Justin Warnke, who claim the sleeper injured their daughter Isla on Dec. 4, 2018. She later died as a result of her injuries.
We're here to help!
At Clark & DiStefano we are attentive, always focusing on the needs of our clients. We develop strategies that are tailored to each individual case, and we treat our clients as strategic partners in achieving a common goal. We endeavor to think outside of the box and formulate cost-effective strategies. Lastly, we believe in prompt communications with clients so they have predictability for reserve setting and sufficient time for studied pre-trial evaluations and recommendations.