Toddler's death leads to recall of blinds made by a Livonia company

A Commerce Township girl's death prompts the CPSC and a Livonia company to recall thousands of vertical and horizontal blinds

COMMERCE TOWNSHIP, Mich. – The death a two-year-old Commerce Township girl has led to the recall of window blinds made by a Livonia company.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced Thursday the recall of 139,000 custom-made vertical and 315,000 horizontal blinds made by the company Blind Xpress of Livonia. 

Isabela Nagara, 2, was reportedly strangled in the loop of a vertical blind cord that was not attached to the wall or floor in 2009.

Blind Xpress custom vertical blinds have an adjustment cord that forms a loop that is not attached to the wall or floor, according to Consumer Product Safety Commission. The federal agency said in some instances, this loop has a weighted device at the bottom. The CPSC said custom horizontal blinds do not have inner cord stop devices to prevent the inner cords from being pulled out and a child can become entangled in a cord loop and strangle.

The CPSC said the recall includes all Blind Xpress custom vertical blinds that do not have a cord-tensioning device that attaches to the wall or floor and horizontal blinds that do not have inner cord stop devices.

Blind Xpress does not sell directly to the public. The blinds were sold in specialty stores in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana from January 1995 until December 2011. The costs of the blinds ranged from $16 to $380.

Local 4 spoke to Larry Carollo, owner of Blind Xpress, who said his company has already updated the design of its blinds.  He said warning labels are attached to the vertical blinds and they now use tension pulleys that have to be screwed to the wall.   The chain to open the blinds is split which he said makes it difficult for a child to become entangled.  

Carollo said his company also make a model that is cordless.

Anyone with the recalled blinds should stop using the window coverings right away and call the Window Covering Safety Council to receive a free repair kit. To do that call 800-506-4636 or click here.