Fisher-Price Didn't Heed Rock 'n Play Warnings. 50 Babies Died

New report comes to damning conclusion on inclined sleeper
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 8, 2021 2:03 AM CDT
Fisher-Price Didn't Heed Rock 'n Play Warnings, and More Than 50 Babies Died
The Rock 'N' Play is shown in a CPSC photo.   (Consumer Product Safety Commission)

On the heels of the latest Fisher-Price recall comes a damning report from a congressional oversight committee about the company's 2019 recall of the Rock 'n Play Sleeper. Fisher-Price and parent company Mattel ignored multiple warnings that the product was dangerous, the Committee on Oversight and Reform found after a 20-month investigation. As a result, more than 50 babies died in the sleepers before they were recalled, NPR reports. The report also accuses Fisher-Price of failing to take steps, like consulting pediatricians, to ensure the product was safe before selling it, ABC News reports.

After it went on the market, international regulators, doctors, and customers whose babies had been injured or died told the company the product was dangerous, but nothing was done until 2019. "Despite this clear evidence, the company continued to market the Rock 'n Play for overnight sleep, reaping hundreds of millions in revenue during the 10 years the product was on the market," the chair of the committee says in a statement. The report also calls out a lack of federal oversight, calling for reforms at the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Company execs testified at a congressional hearing Monday, and Mattel's CEO continued to insist the Rock 'n Play had been safe when used properly, the Washington Post reports. (The latest Fisher-Price recall was instituted after four deaths.)

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