Parents have been awarded $8 million in a wrongful death case of their 7-month-old baby. The jury ruled the baby was suffocated by a mattress pad made by a baby product manufacturer, Evenflo.
The couple's baby, Abby Karow, died almost six years ago after being placed face down in an Evenflo BabyGo playpen. Both parents were told their baby died from "sudden infant death syndrome," otherwise known as SIDS.
Jury finds Bay Area baby suffocated on Evenflo mattress pad, awards #babycribs #newbaby https://t.co/S5xuJFIbk8 pic.twitter.com/YETdztMGDQ
— ParentsChannel (@ParentsChannel) Marso 21, 2016
After hearing both sides, the jury put the blame on the mattress pad because they found out that the mattress cover was equivalent to a plastic bag. "If the baby is put down on that, then that baby cannot breathe through that," attorney Joseph Carcione Jr. said to WIAT.
Furthermore, Dave Karow, the father of the baby, said after the horrific incident, their lawyer took the Evenflo BabyGo mattress pad to a lab to test its breathability. Results found it to be very low compared to the other 20 types of mattress pads that were tested.
"The meter that measures the air was literally at the same zeroed out reading for this mattress pad fabric as it would be for a plastic bag," he added. The couple is now entitled to $8 million for the legal victory.
However, the mother of the baby, Tiffany Karow, said there is no amount of money that can bring her baby back. Nevertheless, she thinks it is worth it if someone else doesn't have to experience the same fate.
Redwood City jury found #Abigail suffocated on #Evenflo mattress pad. Evenflo standing behind the product. pic.twitter.com/POghveMBT0 — Katie Marzullo (@KatieABC7) Marso 19, 2016
As for Evenflo, the baby product maker maintains that the cause of the death of the baby was SIDS and their product has nothing to do with it. The baby product manufacturer further added they are disappointed with the decision.
Hence, they are considering an appeal. "Evenflo stands behind the design of its Playyard mattress pad and remains confident it was not the cause of her tragic death," the statement reads according to ABC 7.
