Toddler Death Prompts Recall of Shades and Blinds
After recent reports that a toddler was strangled to death in a pull cord, thousands of Roman shades, roll-up blinds and roller blinds are being recalled.
Hanover Direct Inc. agreed to the recall after a 22-month old boy from Cedar Falls, Iowa was found hanging by his neck from the outer pull cords of one of the company’s Roman shades. The death is the second child strangulation linked to the shades. In 2008, a 2-year-old boy in Delaware got tangled in the cords after climbing on a toy chest to look out the window.
These tragic product-related deaths are becoming far too common. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that nearly 250 infants and young children have died from accidentally strangling on window cords.
The recall affects about 495,000 roman shades and 28,500 blinds sold by Hanover Direct, which is also known as Hanover Domestications, between January 1996 and October 2009. It applies to all Roman shades with inner cords, all roll-up blinds, and all roller blinds that do not have a tension device.
If you have any of these products in your home, even those purchased from a different manufacturer, the CPSC recommends that you immediately stop using them to avoid potential risks