On the morning of January 2, 2019, Amanda Butler awoke to discover her newborn baby girl Arya lying dead in her inclined sleeper bed. Only hours earlier, Mrs. Butler had put Arya to sleep in their “Rock n’ Play Sleeper” right next to their own bed. By the morning, Mrs. Butler woke up to find her 11-month-old’s body limp in the sleeper, head tilted forward, and skin turned blue.
Unfortunately, Arya was not able to be resuscitated by emergency medical technicians at the house, leaving both her parents utterly devastated trying to cope with an unimaginable loss.
Sadly, Mrs. Butler is far from being alone when it comes to losing an infant at the hands of these unreasonably dangerous sleeper chairs. Almost 60 babies have died across the U.S. because of this same type of inclined sleeper chair. A new study into the safety of these products was recently conducted by the University of Arkansas which found that the cause of death for these infants is generally asphyxia, or a lack of oxygen to the body and brain. The study discovered that the deaths were a result of a design defect in sleeper chairs just like the “Rock n’ Play Sleeper” that killed Arya Butler earlier this year. Doctors say when babies are placed at such a high angle, in a reclined position, there is an increased likelihood that the baby’s head will fall forward, actually closing their own airway.
If you or someone you know has been injured by a defective product, contact an attorney at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner by calling (713) 222-7211 or toll free at 713-222-7211.