Yesterday we learned about a large recall of rain forest-themed Fisher-Price portable play yards with rails that can unexpectedly collapse. The Consumer Product Safety Commission cited 1,350 reports of one or more rails falling including some that resulted in injuries. Side-rail collapse on play yards is a serious defect that, in other brands, has caused the strangulation deaths of at least 18 children, according to a tally kept by Nancy Cowles of Kids in Danger, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the safety of children's products.

The background of this product -- and of this recall  -- is a bit convoluted. Although the play yards carried a Fisher-Price label, they were manufactured by Simplicity Inc. and SFCA Inc. Simplicity is no longer in business; its assets were purchased last April by SFCA, an affiliate of the private equity firm Blackstreet Capital Management of Bethesda, MD. SFCA has said that it is not responsible for products previously manufactured by Simplicity Inc., since it did not assume Simplicity's liabilities in the acquisition.

Among the disturbing issues surrounding this recall is the fact that the CPSC recall notice states that, "Simplicity Inc. and SFCA Inc. have not responded to CPSC requests to recall these products nor have they been responsive to consumer complaints recently received."

This isn't the first time that SFCA has thumbed its nose at the CPSC. In August, the company refused to cooperate with the agency in recalling Simplicity brand 3-in-1 and 4-in-1 convertible "close sleeper" bassinets (see photo) after the deaths of two infants. SFCA stated that it was assuming no responsibility for products previously manufactured by Simplicity Inc. But the Chicago Tribune reported that it had purchased one of the hazardous bassinets that carried an SFCA Inc. shipping label, and Scott Wolfson of the CPSC told us that the play yards in today's recall were indeed manufactured by both companies. The CPSC has the authority to pursue the responsible manufacturers of hazardous products. We hope they do.

According to Wolfson, Fisher-Price agreed to recall the hazardous play yards, but since it did not manufacture or sell the product the company has no legal obligation to do so. We believe that Fisher-Price is doing the honorable thing. A spokesperson for the company said that consumer complaints received before the end of October 2008 were redirected to SFCA. But when Fisher-Price learned from consumers that SFCA wasn't responding to their complaints, it assumed the responsibility of collecting the data and sharing the information with the CPSC.

Fisher-Price is offering a $100 refund -- the price of the play yard -- to owners who return the four side panels (ensuring that it is taken out of use). The refund will take 8 to 12 weeks to reach consumers.

The recall notice cites five reports of injuries: a broken nose, a broken wrist, a mild concussion, a serious cut to the hand, and a chipped tooth. But it also mentions children receiving bumps and bruises, which we believe are also injuries. When asked why bumps and bruises were considered separately, the CPSC told us that the language for reporting injuries was negotiated with Fisher-Price. We fear that could result in underreporting the number of children injured.

Finally, we are stunned that there were at least 1,350 reports of one or more side rails collapsing before this play yard was recalled. The CPSC said that most of the complaints didn't come to its attention until the end of 2008, peaking in December. Still, just one collapse of a play yard side rail should have gotten the immediate attention of the CPSC because of the record of serious injuries and deaths associated with play yard side-rail collapse.

Consumers would be much better protected if companies like Blackstreet Capital Management and SFCA were held responsible for the branded products they own, even if the products were made before the company purchased the assets. In this tenuous business climate, it's likely that we'll be seeing more companies go out of business. Whatever deals are struck in mergers and acquisitions, no company should be absolved of its liability for selling hazardous products or of its responsibility for resolving a problem should one arise. -- Don Mays