Parents throughout the state of Pennsylvania are likely familiar with the popular Bumbo Baby Sitter. Since 2003, close to 4 million of the seats have been sold by retailers throughout the United States. This baby seat is designed to prop up children into the upright sitting position who are not yet old enough to sit up by themselves.

The seat is somewhat controversial however. Some believe that its design is defective. Twenty-eight reports of injuries to the Consumer Product Safety Commission prompted the South African company that makes the seat to issue a recall in 2007. Many of the injuries reported were skull fractures. Warning labels were affixed on the seats indicating that the seats should only be used on the floor, not an elevated surface. The molded design that allows the baby to sit upright does not include restraints.

Parents of a young son injured when he maneuvered out of the chair and was injured filed a lawsuit against Toys R Us, the retailer from which the seat was purchased, this past June. The lawsuit alleges that Toys R Us knew that the product had caused injuries but sold it nonetheless. It also claims that Bumbo could have modified the design in multiple ways to make it safer, including adding a safety harness.

Since that case was filed, the CPSC released another warning about the product. It indicated that since the 2007 recall, an additional 45 reports of children sustaining injuries while using the seat had been reported. These incidents took place not only when the seat was on an elevated surface, but when it was on the floor as well.

The case was filed in the in the U.S. District Court in Austin, Texas. We will continue to monitor this and provide updates as they become available.

Source: Reuters, "Did Bumbo ignore child safety in favor of profits?" Mitch Lipka, Dec. 14, 2011