Chicago
Daily Herald
September 28, 2007 Friday
DuPage Edition; Cook Edition
by Kimberly
Pohl
Amber Spitzer learned her
daughter's crib had been recalled shortly after she laid 1-year-old
Briana down for a nap.
"My heart stopped," Spitzer said. "I ran to wake
her up and get her out of there."
A few phone calls later,
the Hanover Park stay-at-home mom now finds herself at the helm
of a class action lawsuit filed Monday against Simplicity, Target
and Graco Children's Products.
"This is my only child and I don't take this lightly," Spitzer
said, adding Briana's been sleeping in a playpen ever since.
The lawsuit, which seeks
refunds and other unspecified damages for crib owners, has garnered
international attention.
"This blew up big and fast, but in the long run I hope it'll
do some good," Spitzer said Thursday, just before she was
set to be interviewed by CNN.
Spitzer said last week's
recall of 1 million cribs by the Consumer Product Safety Commission
is "despicable," partly because
no refunds are being offered, only repair kits.
"If the manufacturers can't put the crib together, what makes
you think the average consumer can fix it?" she said. "I
don't feel very secure trying to do it myself."
Representing Spitzer is
Charles Kelly, the same San Francisco attorney who represented
the family of a 9-month-old who died in a Simplicity crib in 2005.
The case was settled out of court.
The safety commission said
in its recall that three babies have died, seven have been trapped
and 55 other incidents have been linked to a design flaw.
"I'm not looking for a paycheck," Spitzer said. "This
is for all those families who had no idea, for the kids who lost
their lives when nothing was done."
Spitzer said she wants money
for a new crib; the recalled cribs retail between $100 and $300
depending on the model.
Simplicity, based in Reading,
Pa., is defending its decision to offer repair kits.
"We worked in conjunction with the (safety commission) to
decide what was the best, most effective and fastest way to address
the issue," said Simplicity spokesman Joe Householder. "We
jointly agreed that distributing the repair kit satisfied that."
The repair kits, which Simplicity
says could take up to four weeks to be delivered, will include
written instructions and a video.
In the meantime, Householder
said customers can call customer service at (800) 858-8323 to speak
with a person who will walk callers through the assembly.
The recall hotline is automated.
Customers can also watch a video online on proper assembly.
A Target spokeswoman said
the affected cribs have been removed from the shelves and customers
can return them to any store for a full refund, with or without
a receipt.
That's little consolation
to Spitzer, who said she doesn't know what product lines are trustworthy.
"To not know that your child is in danger scares the heck
out of me," she said. "We're looking to have more kids
in the future, and I don't want to go through this again."
Graco said it cannot comment
because it wasn't the manufacturer; it only licensed its name to
Simplicity for some of the recalled cribs. |
