December 22, 2008 – Bassinet Death Prompts Disney Lawsuit
Walt Disney Co. allegedly permitted the sale of a bassinet with a design flaw that contributed to the death of an infant, a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles said.
The family of 6-month-old Kennedy Brotherton Jones alleges in their lawsuit against the children’s entertainment giant that a Winnie the Pooh bassinet had a design flaw that allowed children to accidentally hang themselves.
Jones was strangled on Aug. 21 while being kept inside the bassinet, leading the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to order the Simplicity Inc. product not continue to be sold.
Simplicity Inc. is the consumer products division of Disney.
The lawsuit filed in California state court Wednesday seeks unspecified damages and attempts to hold Disney responsible for the alleged product defect, a claim the company denies.
“The functional and structural design as well as the manufacture and sale of Simplicity bassinets were solely the responsibility of Simplicity Inc., as was the need that its product be in compliance with legal and industry safety standards,” Disney Counsel Manuel Grace said in a September letter.
