The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) oversees and regulates the window blind industry. The CSPC has recognized and identified the hazards of corded window blinds, including stock and custom-made products. While the CPSC has published a series of standards over the years to impose greater restrictions and safety requirements that window-covering companies must follow, these regulations have been deficient for a few reasons.
For one, many of these standards are voluntary, which in and of itself means they are not sufficient to address the risk of strangulation incidents presented by corded window blinds. The introduction of these standards has also been met with serious backlash by the window blind industry, with many companies filing lawsuits that remain ongoing.
Even the standards that have been implemented do not totally deal with the hazards posed by window blind cords. For example, one element of the new regulations is that stock window coverings must either be cordless or have inaccessible cords.
However, even supposedly inaccessible inner cords can pose a risk to a curious young child. All of these factors have slowed the implementation of potentially life-saving changes throughout the window-covering industry.
There are multiple steps that you can take to protect the children in your home from potential strangulation incidents. Various types of cords can be found in window blinds, including the standard pull cords and continuous cord loops.
Be aware that cord connectors, wrap-around cords, and even inner cords can all still be dangerous in the reach of a young child. One of the first steps to take if you are a parent of young children and have window coverings in your home with any of these elements present is to make sure those cords, strings, and connectors are totally inaccessible to your children.
Move furniture, cribs, and any other objects your children could use to climb up well away from these window coverings. Make sure that any hanging cord, tassels, loops, stops, or any other kind of lifting device outside or inside the window covering is removed or tied well out of reach.
These are all early preventative measures, but, if possible, you should remove all corded window blinds from your home as soon as feasible and replace them with cordless options. If you cannot afford to remove all your corded window blinds, focus on the rooms where your children spend the most time and where these coverings are the most accessible to them.
Another cost-effective option, at least in the interim before you purchase cordless blinds, is to retrofit your corded window coverings. Many companies provide retrofit kits that you can use to add cordless technology to your older window blinds.
Window blind cord strangulation lawsuits typically involve multiple parties who can be held legally responsible for your child or family’s financial damages. Most window blind cord strangulation cases are filed as product liability claims, which hinge around the concept that consumers can hold a manufacturer liable for a defective product that causes injury.
Products like window blinds may be considered defective because of an inherent design problem. Still, the defect can also stem from how the product was made or even how it was marketed to consumers. Members of the window blind industry know all too well the potential hazards associated with their corded products.
Yet, these companies continue to take advantage of various loopholes that allow these defective products to remain accessible to consumers. If a child is injured or killed in a window blind cord strangulation incident, the manufacturer, designer, retailer, distributor, or supplier could be legally responsible.
If your child has been injured or killed in a window blind cord strangulation incident, we understand that you are going through a very difficult time. Our compassionate team at OnderLaw can review your case and explain all your available legal options.
Our compassionate attorneys can help you seek compensation for future lost earnings, pain, suffering, as well as past, current, and future medical bills if your child was injured in a window blind cord strangulation incident. If you lost your child in these tragic circumstances, we can help you file a wrongful death lawsuit against all entities responsible.
Jim Onder and the team at OnderLaw have been a singularly unwavering force driving changes in the window blind industry for decades. We advocate on behalf of parents across the nation in civil actions against members of the window blind industry—including retailers, distributors, manufacturers, and others. OnderLaw remains the preeminent firm in window covering litigation in the nation, and we handle more wrongful death cases for our clients than any other firm in the country.
