"Questor" Crib Brackets And Mattress Support Hangers To Be Replaced

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Baby Line Furniture Company, a division of Spading & Evenflo Companies, Inc., today announced a voluntary replacement program of slotted mattress support hangers and plastic brackets for Questor "Baby Line" cribs manufactured from 1970 through 1982 because the Commission believes they can cause suffocation hazards. The hangers and brackets hold the mattress and spring to the corner- posts of the cribs.

Two deaths and 14 other instances where the slotted hangers became unhooked and 17 instances of plastic brackets breaking or bending have been reported to the Commission.

If the hanger becomes unhooked or a plastic bracket bends or breaks, the mattress can tilt down when the child moves to that corner. The child can then slide down and become caught between the mattress and the side rail or end panel of the crib. In 19 of the 33 reported incidents, including the two deaths, the child became entrapped between the mattress and the crib. The Commission believes the hangers may become unhooked when the crib is moved, the bed is made of when a child jumps in the crib.

While the firm believes its cribs do not present a hazard if assembled properly and used in accordance with instructions, a failure of the plastic hanger bracket, or an unhooking of the slotted hangers could cause the crib spring and mattress assembly to pivot downward when the child moves to that corner, resulting in potential for injury.

The cribs can be identified by the name "Questor" on a stick-on-label underneath the mattress on the headboard or footboard of the crib. The cribs can also be identified by the slotted hangers and a tubular mattress support.

More than 900,000 of the cribs were manufactured. Many of them are now being used by second or third owners. Fifty percent or more are believed by the Commission to be in storage. The cribs were sold in several different styles and come in white, maple, pine and sometimes in yellow and walnut finishes. They sold at retail for $77.00 to $140.00.

The plastic brackets were previously recalled in 1979 and 1981, but the Commission has continued to receive reports of breakage and bending. Baby Line has since changed the design of its brackets and also of its mattress support hangers.

If you own one of these cribs having slotted mattress hangers or plastic brackets, whether you are using it or have it in storage, call the manufacturer toll-free to obtain replacement kits for the slotted hangers and plastic brackets. The number is 800-543-8954 outside Ohio and 800-762-8926 in Ohio. You may also write to Baby Line Furniture Co., 6235 South St. Andrews Place, Los Angeles, California, 90047, Attention: Corrective Program.

Owners of these cribs which have been previously used or which have been disassembled and reassembled are also urged to check the cribs frequently for stability and loose or missing parts. If owners do not have the original assembly and use instructions, they should obtain a copy from the company at the above address or by calling the toll-free phone numbers.

Information concerning this matter is also available to consumers on CPSC's toll-free Hotline at 800-638-CPSC. A teletypewriter number for the hearing-impaired is 800-638-8270.