Many new parents favor the Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat because it's more stable than a bouncy chair, but more flexible than a highchair. However, the manufacturer is coming under some serious fire after a 9-month-old boy fell out of the chair and fractured his skull. This isn't the first time that the company has had problems with infant injuries related to its product–in 2007 they recalled Bumbos after the Consumer Product Safety Commission received 28 reports of injuries, including several skull fractures. Consequently, Bumbo added a warning label to their product telling parents to only use the seat when it is placed on the ground. The Bumbo maintains high popularity with nearly 4 million sold in the U.S. since 2003.
Kevin and Lucy Ferrell, the parents of the 9-month-old baby, filed a lawsuit in Austin, TX for the injuries that their son sustained. Company records obtained as part of the lawsuit have revealed more disturbing findings related to Bumbo. In fact, the reports show at least 300 incidents of baby injuries, and in late November the CPSC announced an additional 45 incidents since the recall as well as 18 older cases. More disturbing is the fact that these incidents occured both when the seat was placed on the floor or when it was elevated, rendering the company's warning in 2003 useless.
The attorney for Bumbo says that he cannot comment on the litigation, but provided a statement from the company:
The Bumbo baby seat is a safe product for infants when it is used as intended: on the floor and never on an elevated surface. Children should always been closely supervised when they are in the Bumbo seat.
Toys R Us is also named in the lawsuit for knowingly stocking a baby product that has caused injuries. Toys R Us says it complied with the 2007 recall by removing all of the seats at that time and working with Bumbo to update the product with the warning label.
