Danny Foundation Petitions Commission for Mandatory Bunk Bed Safety Standards

Business Wire, Sept 26, 2002

News Editors

ALAMO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 26, 2002

The Danny Foundation for Crib and Child Product Safety today called for mandatory safety standards for bunk beds in a petition to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

"We believe the mandatory standards are critical to prevent any further deaths resulting from finials or cornerposts," said Jack Walsh, executive director of The Danny Foundation. "No family should experience the loss of a child because of dangerous, and sometimes deadly, design."

The design at issue revolves around the finial, or cornerpost, on bunk beds. These embellishments, used for purely decorative reasons, can be hazardous to children of all ages. Since 1993, at least 14 children have been killed because of the finials, due mostly to being hanged. Countless others have been seriously injured.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has already acknowledged the dangers of bunk beds through the passage of one regulation, which strictly regulates the design of bunk beds to prevent hanging deaths. However, the regulation does not include all facets of bunk bed design, including finials.

"We are simply asking the commission to extend the regulation to include finials, something the commission has already addressed in its call for the elimination of finials and cornerposts on baby cribs," Walsh said. "Bunk beds pose the most severe risk of death to one of the most vulnerable segments of our population--young children. This issue is simply too important not to correct."

Lee Baxter, chairman of The Danny Foundation board of directors, says a voluntary standard will not provide a level of substantial compliance, citing a voluntary standard for bunk bed safety rails, in which compliance was never achieved.

"The industry had eight years to comply, which they didn't do," Baxter said. "As a result, more than 50 children died in the interim and many others were injured."

Through its efforts, the foundation has been successful in collaborating with manufacturers and other organizations to produce a safer design for cribs, thereby eliminating numerous deaths. And with its petition for mandatory bunk bed standards, Walsh believes the foundation is continuing its mission.

"Our mission is to make sure that not one child dies from poor product design," Walsh said. "Ours is both an advocacy and educational mission and we will continue to fight for each child."

The Danny Foundation for Crib and Child Product Safety, a nonprofit organization, was founded in 1986 to help prevent unintentional injuries, conduct research and provide the much needed leadership to set regulatory standards for safe nursery products. The foundation has worked to pass legislation in a number of states, petitioned the Consumer Product Safety Commission for product recalls, devoted efforts to community-based programs and created public awareness programs. The primary mission of the foundation is to educate the public about crib dangers and to eliminate the millions of unsafe cribs currently in use or in storage. For more information, visit www.dannyfoundation.org.