Lane Company's Dangerous Cedar Chests

In 1996, The Lane Company issued a voluntary recall for 12 million "Lane" and "Virginia Maid" cedar chests whose automatic-latch lids posed a suffocation risk to children. These chests, manufactured between 1912 and 1987, trapped children inside when the lid latched shut upon closing. Tragically, 14 children suffocated between 1977 and 2015. The CPSC fined Lane $900,000 in 2001 for delaying reporting of the hazard, and the company supplied free replacement latches-though millions of recalled units reportedly remain in homes.

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