Testing didn’t foresee problems prior to death

Health Canada testing of a playpen bassinet conducted six months before an infant died in the equipment did not spot a problem, but a test conducted after the death identified a design feature that was "significantly hazardous," according to internal records.

A two-month-old boy from Winnipeg died in the bassinet attachment of a Dorel Safety 1st playpen on Feb. 18, 2009. Health Canada launched an investigation on March 4 when Manitoba’s chief medical examiner informed the department of the death.

The Health Canada investigation revealed that a product safety expert conducted "supplementary testing" on two Dorel bassinet attachments in August 2008 as part of the department’s routine playpen testing program.

The test on the playpen accessory entailed assembling the bassinet attachment, an elevated sleeping surface from the base of the playpen, and measuring the distance between the upper surface of the mattress support of the bassinet and the upper surface of the playpen’s lowest stationary side.

One of the bassinet attachments shared the same design as the one in which the infant died, and was subsequently recalled in June 2009 after Health Canada conducted a followup test in April 2009, focusing exclusively on the bassinet accessory.

Health Canada concluded the bassinet attachment was "significantly hazardous" and "required design changes" because of a design flaw apparent at assembly. The "bassinet bars appear to be too short, are easy to push out of the short sleeves, and even when properly assembled, the bassinet did not provide a flat sleeping surface," according to an April 23, 200 followup test results. "Also, there are no attachment devices for securing the bassinet bars, or the floor pad, in the bassinet configurations. In fact, the floor pad was noted to have a resting angle of 15 degrees, which is significantly hazardous. since this is not considered to be flat."