Nationwide recall of beds after Calif. tot's death

A California toddler's death prompted the voluntary nationwide recall last week of two makes of youth beds.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced the recall of the La Jolla Boat Bed and Pirates of the Caribbean Twin Trundle Beds, both by Bayside Furnishings of San Diego.

Both makes of bed come with toy chests, and the safety commission said the chests' lid supports don't work properly.

Bayside shipped some 9,350 of the La Jolla and Pirates beds between January 2006 and May 2008, the commission said. The beds were sold at Costco and other retailers.

Last fall, in a case involving a La Jolla Boat Bed, a 22-month-old Roseville, Calif. boy was strangled when the lid fell on the back of his head, catching his neck on the edge of the chest.

According to a lawsuit filed by the boy's parents, Natalya and Vitalik Kalinyuk, they purchased the bed in March 2007 at a Costco store.

On the afternoon of Oct. 23, 2007, after his mother had left the room briefly, little Ethan Kalinyuk reached into his toy chest and was killed when the lid fell on him, the suit said.

The suit, filed this April in Los Angeles Superior Court, said the product's design was defective. The suit seeks unspecified damages from Bayside; its parent, Whalen Furniture Manufacturing; and Costco Wholesale Corp.

The Kalinyuks couldn't be reached for comment. Their lawyer, David Lira of Los Angeles, said the parents were told of the recall and took some satisfaction from the news.

"Now other young children won't be in harm's way, hopefully," Lira said.

Placer County, Calif. officials contacted the safety commission after the county's multi-agency Child Death Review Team concluded that the lid supports were faulty.

"The lid basically pinned the child and caused him to suffocate -- it pinched his windpipe," said Dr. Mark Starr, Placer County's community health director and a member of the team.

Bayside is working with the retailers to track down every purchaser, said Brian Leeper, Bayside's vice president for operations. He said Costco's customers are the easiest to track down because the seller maintains precise records about its members' purchases.

Consumers are being urged to contact Bayside to obtain a free repair kit and replacement lid supports. The company can be reached at (877) 494-2536 or www.baysidefurnishings.com.

(E-mail By Dale Kasler at dkasler(at)sacbee.com)

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)