The Recall Desk
CriticalCPSC·82008·Announced 1982-03-15

Creative Playthings Indoor Gym House Ladders Recalled After Strangulation Death

CPSC renewed efforts to replace Creative Playthings Indoor Gym House ladders after a two-year-old died from strangulation in California.

What this means for you

Highest-severity recall. Risk of serious injury or death is documented or strongly suspected. Stop using the product now and follow the agency's instructions.

Our severity reasoning: The source text explicitly states that a two-year-old boy died from strangulation, which meets the rubric criterion for a score of 5 (Critical) due to known fatalities.

Plain-English summary

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) renewed efforts to replace all estimated 137,000 to 239,000 Creative Playthings Indoor Gym House ladders following a recent strangulation death. The product was manufactured prior to 1980 by Creative Playthings, a unit of Gabriel Industries, a division of CBS Inc., New York, N.Y. The recall was initiated after the CPSC advised the firm of the death of a two-year-old California boy on February 9, 1982, in an accident associated with the product.

The Creative Playthings Indoor Gym House consists of a hollow, fiberboard-and-wood box 20 inches in height which supports a two-step wooden ladder on one side and a short slide on the opposite side. The product is intended for use by children ages 18 months through 3 1/2 years. It was sold for approximately $29 to $50 in toy stores and other retail outlets nationwide in knocked-down form to be assembled by the owner. The ladder that was being replaced was manufactured from 1962 through 1979. The gym houses with ladders that were being replaced are those with "Creative Playthings" printed on the side or with no lettering.

The space between the upper rung of the ladder and the platform was small enough for a child's head to be inserted and become entrapped, creating a potential for strangulation. The replacement ladder that had been offered by the firm was redesigned to reduce the likelihood of head entrapment. However, the Creative Playthings company that conducted the recall no longer exists, and the replacement ladders are no longer available. Consumers are urged to remove and destroy the ladder immediately if they have the product.

The recalled product

Product
Creative Playthings Renews Efforts To Replace Indoor Gym House Ladders After California Death
Manufacturer
Gabriel Industries
Category
Consumer Product — Playground Equipment
Hazard

Distribution

Distributed nationwide across the United States.

Related recalls

Same hazard · strangulation

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