Jeep Liberty Baby Strollers Recalled; 18 Injured

About 96,000 Jeep Liberty baby strollers have been recalled by maker Kolcraft due to a projectile hazard. At least 18 people have been hurt.

The inner tube of the tire on the stroller can rupture, causing the wheel rim to fracture and fly off as a projectile, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission's announcement. The strollers were sold at Sears, Toys R Us, and Burlington Coat Factory, as well as online and other retail stores between June 2010 and June 2013.

If you think you might own one of these strollers, here's what to look for:

• Model numbers starting with JL031, JL032, JL034, JL035 or JL036 manufactured between June 2010 and September 2011. The model number and date of manufacture are printed on a white tag on the rear upper center of each seatback pad.
• "Jeep" printed on the side of the stroller and on the front of the stroller tray.
• A plastic red toy steering wheel, ignition key, and orange shift lever mounted on a yellow base attached to the stroller tray.

If your stroller wheels have a gray triangle located on the rim at the valve stem, then your stroller wheels are not affected by the recall.

39 Ruptures, 18 Injuries

The CPSC and Kolcraft, which dealt with this problem before, have received 39 reports of inner tube ruptures that resulted in the wheel rim flying off. Of those reports, 18 included reports of injury.

Two children received lacerations to their chin or leg while standing near the stroller, while 16 adults received abrasions, contusions and/or lacerations to their arms, legs, stomach or head/face. Two of the reports included property damage.

Most of the injuries happened when an adult was filling the tire with air.

Those who are injured may file a lawsuit to cover their medical expenses.

Remedy Offered

Kolcraft is offering consumers free replacement wheels that should repair the wheel defect problem. According to the CPSC, consumers should use a manual bicycle pump to inflate stroller tires to a maximum of 30 PSI. Do not use gas station air pumps to inflate stroller tires.

Owners of the affected strollers should visit www.Kolcraft.com or call the company at (800) 453-7673 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern time on weekdays.

If you're a merchant, make sure to stop selling the stroller. It's against federal law for anyone to sell products subject to a publicly announced recall.

Related Resources:

• CPSC: Kolcraft Recalls 96,510 Jeep Liberty Branded Strollers Over Tire Tube Hazard (Dow Jones Business News)
• 'Bugaboo Bee' Strollers Recalled Over Brake Defect (FindLaw's Injured)
• 1 Million Maclaren Strollers Recalled Due to Fingertip Amputations (FindLaw's Common Law)
• Browse Products Liability Lawyers by Location (FindLaw)