Federal officials on Thursday urged retailers to stop selling Simplicity bassinets connected to two infant deaths, including one last week in Shawnee.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission secured agreements with Wal-Mart, Toys "R" Us, Kmart, Big Lots, Target and J.C. Penney to voluntarily stop selling the nearly 900,000 bassinets.

The commission action stops short of an official recall because the government found itself in a legal no man's land as it worked to get the bassinets away from unsuspecting parents Thursday.

Kennedy Renee Brotherton
The Simplicity 3-in-1 and 4-in-1 convertible bassinets have metal bars spaced farther apart than 2 3/8 inches, which is the maximum distance allowed under federal safety standards.

The commission's order was prompted by the Aug. 21 death of 5-month-old Kennedy Renee Brotherton at the home of her aunt and uncle in Shawnee.

A year ago, 4-month-old Katelyn Marie Simon of Noel, Mo., was found dead, hanging partially out of her bassinet. McDonald County officials blamed the bassinet and ruled the death an accident.

Thursday's action was complicated by the fact that Simplicity Inc. of Reading, Pa., is no longer in business. Its assets were purchased in April by another Reading company, which said it would not issue a recall because it didn't make the bassinets.

"These retailers stepped up to the plate because of the situation with Simplicity going bankrupt," said Julie Vallese, a commission spokeswoman.

The confusion extended to the bassinet model numbers, which commission officials were unable to pin down until late Thursday.

"Clearly in this case we see a loophole in the law," said Sally Greenberg, executive director of the National Consumers League. "You cannot have a consumer safety products system that works effectively if companies are allowed to escape responsibility by going out of business."

The commission said the Simplicity 3-in-1 and 4-in-1 convertible bassinets had metal bars spaced farther apart than 2 3/8 inches, which is the maximum distance allowed under federal safety standards.

It noted that the metal bars were covered by a fabric flap attached to Velcro.

"If the Velcro is not properly re-secured when the flap is adjusted, an infant can slip through the opening and become entrapped in the metal bars and suffocate," the commission said in a statement.

After Simplicity filed bankruptcy, its assets were acquired in April at an auction by SFCA Inc., also in Reading, Pa.

Amanda Lahan, an SFCA spokeswoman, said the company wasn't issuing a recall because it didn't manufacture or distribute the defective bassinets.

Lahan said the company, which also makes children's products, has no legal liability for any products distributed previously by Simplicity. Company officials said they did not sell or distribute the Simplicity bassinets after acquiring the assets.

David Arkush, an official with the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, said that under a new law the commission can order a recall on its own but only if it files a lawsuit against the manufacturer.

"In this particular case, I don't know who the commission could sue," he said.

Vallese, the product safety commission spokeswoman, said this isn't the first time the agency has had to sort product responsibility when a company went out of business. The agency had a similar problem with space heaters, but some retailers stepped in to compensate consumers.

"We've been through this before," she said. "It doesn't happen often."

Despite the commission's warning Wednesday, a Simplicity 3-in-1 close-sleeping bassinet was on Wal-Mart's Web site Thursday morning for purchase.

A Wal-Mart spokesman, Bill Wertz, released a statement several hours later saying the company was taking the products off its shelves.

"We are working with the supplier and (the commission) and are directing store managers to remove product identified in the commission's press release from store shelves and initiating a register block to prevent sale," he said. "In addition, we are in the process of removing this product from sale at Walmart.com."

Dan Blegen, a Kansas City corporate lawyer, said retailers should take the product off their shelves voluntarily because they could be liable in a lawsuit if the product injures or kills someone.

"The retailer is taking on a great deal of potential liability by continuing to sell a product that there is a (commission) warning about danger and there's a known risk of injury," he said.

In the situation where the manufacturer doesn't exist any more, sale of a dangerous product can put the retailer in the middle of a legal bull's-eye, Blegen said.

"You protect yourself by pulling it off the market," he said.

Jeff Slaton, a Springdale, Ark., lawyer, filed a lawsuit recently against Simplicity and Wal-Mart on behalf of Katelyn Simon's mother.

"Simplicity failed to warn of the danger of an infant becoming stuck," the lawsuit stated. "Simplicity Inc. and its engineers should have known the defective condition would lead to the death of infants and continued the design and sale of the product willfully, wantonly and with conscious indifference to its consequences."

Slaton thinks the product safety commission didn't act fast enough.

"The sad thing about this is that this (bassinet) should have been recalled right after Katelyn's death," he said.

From 2000 to 2004, the commission reported 97 babies and children under 5 died from crib-related deaths. Another 11,300 children were hurt from cribs and crib mattresses in 2006.

Arkush said the commission has a history of acting slowly to recall dangerous products.

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 makes it easier for the commission to order a recall, Arkush said. Under the previous law, the commission had to hold what amounted to a trial before issuing a recall - a process that could take months.

"It's really a new day," Vallese said. "We are using those new authorities very aggressively."

Bassinet safety Consumer Reports recommends babies sleep in full-size cribs, not bassinets. But if you use a bassinet, follow these safety guidelines: Buy a bassinet or cradle with a wide, stable base and a sturdy bottom. Look for a JPMA (Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association) sticker. Buy a cradle that barely rocks. Rocking can cause the baby to press against the sides of the cradle. Make sure there are no splinters, no sharp points or edges, and no small choking hazards. Do not use a co-sleeper (an infant bed that attaches to an adult bed). There are no safety standards for co-sleepers. Move your baby to a crib as soon as she pushes up on her hands and knees or reaches the maximum weight for the bassinet or cradle. Source: Consumerreports.org