U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Office of Information and Public Affairs Washington, DC 20207
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 26, 2009
Release # 09-329 Firm's Recall Hotline: (800) 423-8653
CPSC Recall Hotline: (800) 638-2772
CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908
Strangulation Death of a Child Prompts Recall To Repair Window Blinds By Vertical Land
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.
Name of Products: Horizontal and Vertical Blinds and Cellular Shades
Units: About 15,400 (horizontal), 16,400 (vertical), 800 (Cellular Shades)
Manufacturer: Vertical Land Inc., of Panama City Beach, Fla.
Hazard: Horizontal Blinds: The blinds do not have inner cord stop devices to prevent the accessible inner cords from being pulled out. If an inner cord is pulled out, a child can become entangled in the loop and strangle.
Vertical Blinds: Strangulations can occur if a child’s neck becomes entangled on the free-standing loop formed by the bead chain or by the cord with a weighted device.
Cellular Shades: Strangulations can occur if a child’s neck becomes entangled on the shade’s free-standing looped cord.
Incidents/Injuries: In May 2006, CPSC received a report of a 4-year-old girl from Pensacola, Fla., who strangled in the loop of a vertical blind cord that was not attached to the wall or floor.
Description: This recall involves all Vertical Land custom-made vertical and cellular window coverings that do not have a cord tensioning device and horizontal blinds that do not have inner cord stop devices. A sticker identification label can be found on the head rail of some of the window coverings which lists the company’s name, address and telephone number.
Sold at: Vertical Land stores in Panama City and Pensacola, Fla. from January 1992 through December 2006 for between $60 and $200 (depending on the size of the blind).
Manufactured in: United States
Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the window coverings and contact Vertical Land to receive a free retrofit kit.
Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Vertical Land at (800) 423-8653 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. CT Monday through Friday.
CPSC is still interested in receiving incident or injury reports that are either directly related to this product recall or involve a different hazard with the same product. Please tell us about it by visiting https://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/incident.aspx
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Send the link for this page to a friend! 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. To join a CPSC e-mail subscription list, please go to https://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx. Consumers can obtain recall and general safety information by logging on to CPSC's Web site at www.cpsc.gov.
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For additional information contact:
Alan L. Morton
MORTON LAW OFFICES, CHARTERED
1005 North Eighth Street
Post Office Box 420
Boise, ID 83701-0420
Telephone: 208.344.5555
Toll Free: 866.946.1669 (866.WIN.1.NOW)
Facsimile: 208.342.2509
Email: amorton@mortonlawyers.com
Website: www.mortonlawyers.com
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