Director's Chairs and Replacement Director's Chair Padded Seats
CPSC Recall #05-561 — April 5, 2005
Recall Summary
| Recall Number | 05-561 |
| Recall Date | April 5, 2005 |
| Remedy Type | Refund |
| Units Affected | About 3,500 |
| Manufactured In | China and the United States |
Where It Was Sold
| L.L. Bean catalog |
| Web site and L.L. Bean flagship store in Freeport |
| Maine from February 2004 through September 2004 for $79 for the padded and $59 for the unpadded chair and $29 for the padded replacement seat. |
Product
Director's Chairs and Replacement Director's Chair Padded Seats
Description
The recalled director's chair is a folding chair with a solid natural-colored wood frame. They have cotton duck fabric seats and backs in navy, red, green and natural colors. The seats are padded and unpadded, and replacement padded seats were sold separately. The director's chair measures 34-inches-high, 24-inches-wide and 19-inches-deep with an 18-inch seat height. The replacement padded seats are navy red, green and natural canvas. The recalled director's chair includes models XS78 and VU67and the recalled replacement seat includes model XS79, which can be found on the label underneath the seat.
Hazard
The wooden dowels in the fabric seats are too small and can break or slide out of the fabric sleeves; the fabric seat can tear from the wooden seat frame; and the chair frame also can break at the backrest upright, the armrest and at the leg axis. These failures can cause the chair's occupant to fall to the floor and possibly sustain injuries.
Incidents & Injuries
L.L. Bean received 10 reports of the dowels breaking, two reports of the fabric tearing and four reports of frame breakage, which involve eight people falling from the chairs. There have been no reports of injury.
Remedy Instructions
Consumers should stop using the director's chair and the padded replacement seat immediately and contact L.L. Bean to receive a full refund or an L.L. Bean gift certificate.
What Should You Do?
Stop using this product immediately. Contact the manufacturer for a Refund at no charge. If you experienced an injury, report it at SaferProducts.gov.
Frequently Asked Questions
Follow the consumer action instructions in the recall notice above. Most recalls require you to stop using the product and contact the manufacturer directly — either by calling the toll-free number listed in the official CPSC notice or by visiting the manufacturer's website. You generally do not need a receipt or original packaging to claim a remedy. The manufacturer is legally required to provide the remedy (Refund) at no cost to you.
Furniture tip-overs are a leading cause of pediatric injuries in the U.S., particularly dressers, bookcases, and television stands. CPSC data shows that a child dies approximately every two weeks from a furniture or TV tip-over. Unstable high chairs, baby swings, and bouncers are also frequent recall subjects due to fall risks. ASTM International standards now require that certain furniture must meet tip-over resistance standards, and CPSC has been actively pursuing mandatory requirements for dressers and chests. If you have furniture that was not recalled but feels unstable, wall-anchoring kits are widely available at hardware stores.
In most cases, no. CPSC-coordinated recall remedies are designed to be accessible without proof of purchase. Manufacturers typically ask consumers to self-certify ownership and may ask for photos of the product or its serial number. Some manufacturers request that you mail in a portion of the product (such as a cut cord or removed component) as proof of disposal. Check the specific remedy instructions for this recall for exact requirements. If you registered your product at the time of purchase, the process is usually even simpler.
If the original manufacturer has gone out of business, the recall remedy may no longer be available through them. In this case, contact CPSC directly at 1-800-638-2772 or cpsc.gov for guidance. If the brand was acquired by another company, the acquiring company may have assumed recall obligations. In some cases where a remedy is unavailable, CPSC advises consumers to safely dispose of the product. If you were injured by the product of a defunct company, consult a product liability attorney — parent companies, distributors, and retailers may still bear liability in some circumstances.