When you think of bean bag chairs, you probably think of 1970's rec rooms or a comfy place for kids to plop down to play video games or read. You probably don't think of death traps. However, two child suffocation deaths have prompted a recall of Ace Bayou bean bag chairs that pose a suffocation and choking risk.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announcement of the recall, Ace Bayou Corp. is recalling 2.2 million bean bag chairs after the reported deaths of two children, aged 3 and 13. In these separate cases, the children unzipped the bean bag chairs, crawled inside the bag, and suffocated from lack of air and choking upon the polystyrene beads inside. In both cases, the children's bodies were discovered inside the chair.
The CPSC says that usable zippers which allow a child to open the bag and enter the bag or have access to the foam beads which pose a choking hazard violate voluntary standards: "The voluntary standard requires non-refillable bean bag chairs to have closed and permanently disabled zippers."
The recalled bean bag chairs, which come in a variety of shapes, sizes, colors and materials, all contain two working zippers, which can be unzipped and opened, allowing children to climb inside the chair and suffocate or choke on the "beans." The chairs, which may be round or L-shaped were sold prior to July 2013 at various brick-and-mortar and online retailers, including Bon-Ton, Meijer, Meier.com, Pamida, School Specialty, Wayfair, Walmart, Walmart.com, and Amazon.com. They should have an Ace Bayou Corp. tag sewn into the cover seam.
Parents are urged to check any bean bag chairs in their home for zippers that can be opened. If a consumer has a recalled chair, he or she should immediately remove the chair from children's access and contact Ace Bayou for a repair kit to permanently disable the zippers.
Contact the company at (855) 751-8151 Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. CT, or visit acebayou.com/recall.
To report an incident involving Ace Bayou bean bag chairs or any other unsafe, dangerous, or defective product, click here.
Product manufacturers are responsible for the safe design and production of the goods they sell and provide. Adherence to safety standards, whether legal mandated or voluntary standards, is important for insuring industry-wide safety measures that protect consumers. When a defective product leads to a consumer or user's personal injury or wrongful death, and attorney can help victims or their surviving loved ones to obtain financial compensation for associated damages and losses.
