Six companies recall blinds, shades after deaths

Consumer Rights

Six companies are recalling millions of window blinds and shades, following the deaths of three children who got caught in cords that help the coverings move up and down.


The recalls, announced Wednesday by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, involve some big-name companies, including Pottery Barn Kids and IKEA as well as smaller companies that sold their window covers at retailers such as Target.


No deaths were associated with the blinds and shades from Pottery Barn Kids and IKEA, but CPSC says there have been six reports of children becoming entangled in the inner cord of the Pottery Barn Kids shades.


CPSC says the three deaths, which date back to 2006, involved blinds or shades made or imported by Vertical Land Inc., of Panama City Beach, Fla., and Lewis Hyman Inc., in Carson., Calif.


A one-year-old was killed in 2007 when he became entangled and strangled in the lift cord loop of a roll-up blind from Lewis Hyman that had fallen into his portable crib, CPSC said. The company is recalling about 4.2 million of the blinds.


It's also recalling more than a half-million roman shades following the strangulation death of a 13-month-old boy last year. The child was found with his head caught between the exposed inner cords and cloth on the backside of the shade, the agency said.


Vertical Land is recalling more than 32,000 blinds and shades following the death of a four-year-old girl. Her death was first reported to CPSC in 2006. The girl was strangled in the loop of a vertical blind cord that was not attached to the wall or floor.

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