Two children from Staffordshire have been killed in separate incidents involving blind cords.
According to the BBC, sixteen-month-old Lillian Bagnall-Lambe died on Tuesday after becoming entangled in the cord. This follows the death of three-year-old Harrison Joyce, who died in a similar incident on 4th February.
Staffordshire Police have issued advice following the deaths, warning parents to be wary of dangling blind cords.
Detective Inspector Vicky Roberts said: “These heart-breaking accidents highlight the dangers that are present in homes.
“It is vital that parents do all they can to make their properties as safe as possible for their young children.”
Following his son’s death, Harrison Joyce’s father Scott Joyce, has set up a campaign called Harrison’s Law, with the aim of banning the manufacture of looped blind cords worldwide.
The campaign has the support of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA), with home safety manager for England, Sheila Merrill stating “A loop which hangs at waist height for an adult could slip around the neck of a young child if he or she falls.
“Our advice is to tie looped blind cords up out of the reach of young children or cut the loop so that it hangs in two strands.”
There may be a possibility that a claim for injury could be put forward following these deaths but it would all depend on whether or not the looping cord was perceived to be a defect and even then the cord would most likely comply with the industry standards and it would be a defence for the product manufacturers to show that any defect is attributable to compliance with those standards. However, the more pressing issue is whether going forward modifications are made to the design of the products will increase safety and reduce the risk of such an unfortunate event occurring again.
