U.S. to Recall Popular Evenflo Infant Car Seats; 90 Babies Hurt

Government regulators will order the recall of one of the nation’s best-selling infant car seats today after discovering a defect that has caused injuries to babies when the seat is carried out of the car.

Evenflo Co. Inc., a major manufacturer of baby products and car seats, said it will voluntarily provide parts to fix a problem with 800,000 On My Way Infant car seats. The company said the 90 reported injuries to babies between 5 and 20 pounds include two skull fractures, three concussions and dozens of bruises and scrapes.

Top officials of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Consumer Product Safety Commission will announce the recall at a joint news conference, alerting parents to the problem and instructing them how to fix it.

The defect, discovered after complaints from consumers, occurs when the seat is carried after it is removed from its base, which is left in the car, Evenflo said. If a parent props the seat, with the baby in it, against the hip or stomach, a red button on the handle may be inadvertently pushed, possibly causing the seat to tip and the baby to fall out. Evenflo, based in Vandalia, Ohio, stressed that the seats are safe when used in the car. Until parents make the repairs, Evenflo urged them to stop carrying the seats by the handles and instead lift it by the “hand-holds” at the ends of the seats.

The seats come in a car-seat model and a car seat/stroller combination. Evenflo said that it redesigned the popular car seats last summer and that the models now in stores should no longer pose a safety problem.

The recall affects seats made between Dec. 15, 1995, and July 27, 1997. Models begin with the three digits 207 for car seats and 492 for car seat/stroller combinations. Consumers with these models should call Evenflo’s toll-free hotline, (800) 203-2138, for a repair kit.