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Tyson child accidental hanging and Iowa infant playground near strangulation very similar

By Steve Lombardi

A playground injury at the Apple Tree Daycare center in Dickinson County, Iowa was caused by a 5-year-old girl near strangulation caused by a jump rope around her neck hooking on the upper portion of the slide at her preschool as she slid down the slide. She was airlifted to the hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and later released.

Original story by KCCI news.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-YgKdT5pwY

This is similar to what we saw in the 1980's involving crib finials and teething rings or pacifiers with neck cords. The neck chord would get wrapped around the finial and the infant would get strangled by the cord after either sitting or falling and not being able to stand up to relieve the tension around the baby's neck.

Bunk beds had a similar problem with design and laws were passed that prohibited designs that included finials or posts sticking up. If you're interested read

There is also a very good checklist called Crib Safety, Hotel And Motel Checklist issued by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Division of Hotels and Restaurants, July 31, 2001. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission does a lot with this issue as well. USCP, Voluntary Standards, Bunk Beds and Children's Furniture. June 03,2008. The safety checklist is available in Spanish.

For Home Playground Safety Tips see the CPSC Document Number 323. And there is a Safety Alert just for strangulation hazards involving playground equipment.

Consumer Product Safety Commission

Strings Can Strangle Children On Playground Equipment: Safety Alert CPSC Document #5094

Clothing strings, loose clothing, and stringed items placed around the neck can catch on playground equipment and strangle children.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has received reports of deaths when these items became caught on playground equipment, especially slides and swings. Items included strings on clothing (such as hoods and attached mittens), loose clothing (such as scarves and ponchos), and other items (such as jump ropes) placed around the neck. These items caught on protrusions, open-ended hooks, gaps, and other parts of playground equipment.

Avoid dressing children in loose or stringed clothing if they will be on playground equipment.

WARNING!

Clothing strings, loose clothing, and stringed items placed around the neck can strangle a child.

Never dress a child in loose or stringed clothing if they will be on playground equipment.

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Send the link for this page to a friend! Consumers can obtain this publication and additional publication information from the Publications section of CPSC's web site or by sending your publication request to info@cpsc.gov.

This document is in the public domain. It may be reproduced without change in part or whole by an individual or organization without permission. If it is reproduced, however, the Commission would appreciate knowing how it is used. Write the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Office of Information and Public Affairs, 4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814 or send an e-mail via CPSC's On-Line Form.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from thousands of types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. The CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard. The CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals - contributed significantly to the decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.

To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call CPSC's hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC's teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270, or visit CPSC's web site at www.cpsc.gov/talk.html. To join a CPSC email subscription list, please go to https://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx. Consumers can obtain this release and recall information at CPSC's Web site at www.cpsc.gov.

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Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Steve Lombardi

Full post as published by Des Moines Personal Injury Lawyer on June 18, 2009 (boomark / email).