Last month I alerted you about the Amby Baby hammock recall. Now a father in Oregon has filed suit against Amby Baby USA, maker over the hammock-style baby beds.
Jonathan Kuzma of Gresham, OR filed the lawsuit in Moltnomah County Circuit Court and claimed that the defective and dangerous Amby Baby bed led to the suffocation death of his son Matteo in August 2009.
The Amby Baby Motion Bed also led to the death of a 4-month-old baby in Georgia. The four-month-old girl was from Lawrenceville, GA, and she died in June 2009.
On December 8, 2008, a recall was issued for about 24,000 of the baby hammocks. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) warned that the side-to-side tilting of the hammock could cause a baby to become trapped within the fabric or mattress pad and suffocate.
Amby has not yet responded to calls or emails seeking comment about the lawsuit.
The lawsuit claims that Amby created a hammock with an unstable sleeping surface that creates a suffocation risk. The lawsuit also states that the materials used to manufacture the hammock were not sufficiently “breathable.”
The recalled Amby Baby Motion beds were sold between January 2003 and October 2009. They consist of a steel from and a fabric hammock connected by a large spring and a metal crossbar. The label on the bed says: “Amby – Babies Love It, Naturally.”
The CPSC warns consumers to stop using the hammocks immediately and contact the company for a free repair kit. In the meantime, if you have one of those baby hammocks, find another safe place for your infant to sleep.
For additional information about the Amby Baby hammock recall, you can call Amby Baby USA at 1-866-544-9721 or visit www.ambybaby.com. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772 to reported a dangerous product or product-related injury, or visit www.cpsc.gov for more information.
Is your baby’s sleeping area safe? Review the following tips from the National Institute of Child Development.
Always place your baby on his or her back to sleep, for naps and at night. The back sleep position is the safest, and every sleep time counts.
Place your baby on a firm sleep surface, such as on a safety-approved crib mattress, covered by a fitted sheet. Never place your baby to sleep on pillows, quilts, sheepskins, and other soft surfaces.
Keep soft objects, toys, and loose bedding out of your baby’s sleep area. Don’t use pillows, blankets, quilts, sheepskins, and pillow-like crib bumpers in your baby’s sleep area, and keep any other items away from your baby’s face.
Keep your baby’s sleep area close to, but separate from, where you and others sleep. Your baby should not sleep in a bed or on a couch or armchair with adults or other children, but he or she can sleep in the same room as you. If you bring your baby in bed with you to breastfeed, put him or her back in a separate sleep area, such as a bassinet, crib, cradle, or a bedside cosleeper (infant bed that attaches to an adult bed) when finished.