An 18-month-old girl dies after five minutes alone in the den. Why did this happen?
While trying to retrieve a toy from underneath her father's recliner, Amy climbed on the footrest to reach the toy below. Her weight was enough to lower the footrest and trap her head between the footrest and the seat. She was trapped for only 5 minutes. Within those 5 minutes, Amy could not breathe and sustained extensive brain damage.
Are Amy's injuries due to the lack of a watchful eye or an unsafe design? The practice of Safety through Design answers this question quite clearly. Although we would like to watch our children every minute of the day, we all know that it is not possible. However, manufacturers and engineers have a responsibility to provide a reasonably safe product for its foreseeable uses and misuses.
At the time of Amy's accident, manufacturers knew of this problem, had a solution for the problem, but failed to provide a device on this chair that would have prevented Amy's injuries. The lesson here is "forethought in design is better than a mother's hindsight".
Look at your recliner. Raise the footrest. Is there a void greater than 5.5 inches between the footrest and the seat? If so, you have the potential for the same scenario to occur in your den. If the largest gap is less than 6 inches, then the design is "Safe through Design".
The solution recliner manufacturers often choose to solve this hazard is the installation of a "mid-ottoman" to reduce the gap. However, manufacturers are not required to reduce the gap between the seat and the footrest with a "mid-ottoman". Manufacturers may use a locking mechanism or fabric between the footrest and seat to fill the void. The fabric must be tight or it may not prevent such an injury.
There are no easy fixes for recliners with too large a gap and no mid-ottomans. No commercial retrofits are on the market. Your best solution is to buy a recliner with a mid-ottoman and dispose of your current one, to ensure that your child or grandchild is not injured.
Millions of homes across the US have this potentially deadly type of recliner. Make sure your family and friends are aware of this extreme danger. Remove it from your house immediately if small children are present in your home.
If you have questions about the safety of your recliner, call The Warren Group in Irmo, South Carolina. http://www.warren-group.com