Beware the Window Shades and Blinds

Angel Reyes

Attorney
(866) 735-1102 Ext 495

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Every month a child is strangled by the cords on window blinds. Often times, this leads to a tragic, avoidable death. In Garland, Texas, the Yearout family has made a crusade out of their near tragedy. Luckily, for the Yearouts, their 3 year old survived being strangled by the window blind cord because his 4 year old brother saw what was happening and ran and told his father. Whew.

Last Wednesday, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CSPC), a commission I've written about before, and one that finally has a Commissioner with some teeth to enforce the CSPC rules, has come out and recalled 5.5 million roll-up and Roman window shades because of the risks of strangulation.

While the Yearouts may not be a household name, they are serious about bringing this danger to light, and they've succeeded. If anyone needs a household name to have this problem hit home, recall that last May, Mike Tyson's 4 year-old daughter died because she was strangled by a cord dangling from a treadmill. Now a treadmill isn't a window blind, but the problem is the same, dangling cords within reach of small children.

One encouraging sign for the Yearouts is that they've got Congressman Jeb Hensarling in their corner. While Republican law makers have never been accused of cozying up to the CSPC, Representative Hensarling should be applauded for taking on the Yearout's cause.

Be advised of the following recalls:

- Roll-up blinds and Roman shades by Lewis Hyman, Inc.
- Roller shades by Lutron Shading Solutions
- Victoria Classic Roman shades
- MELINA Roman blinds
- Pottery Barn Kids Roman shades
- Window blinds by Vertical Land