Tot's death prompts window blind cord recommendation

Tot's death prompts window blind cord recommendation

A fatality inquiry into the accidental strangulation death of a toddler in foster care at a Calgary home has resulted in only one recommendation.

Judge John Bascom recommended that all cords for window blinds should be separated at the bottom to prevent children from harming themselves.

"Many blind cords are designed with a loop, which becomes a natural noose and is a specific danger to children," Bascom wrote in a report made public today.

The recommendation echoes a consumer safety bulletin issued by Health Canada in 2005, which recommends cutting looped blind cords.

The inquiry was probing the death in 2007 of a 16-month-old boy identified as DWL. Because the child was in foster care, his name is protected by a publication ban.

The boy's foster mother left DWL and a four-year-old boy briefly unattended in a play room while she used the bathroom.

The four-year-old boy told police DWL climbed onto "something white" -thought to be a window ledge -and wrapped the blind cord around his neck.

The young witness said DWL fell from the window ledge and was strangled by the cord, which was still around his neck.

The foster mother returned to the room moments later, called 911 right away and tried resuscitating DWL.

Neither the woman nor paramedics were able to revive DWL, who was pronounced dead at Alberta Children's Hospital.

The foster mother and her husband were caring for four children at the time of the fatal accident.

The couple had been foster parents since 1997 or 1998 and Bascom described them as "experienced and conscientious.

"Both parents testified that the cords for blinds in the residence were always tied up and regularly checked," Bascom wrote.

Between 1989 and 2005, Health Canada recorded more than 20 deaths involving children strangled by window blind cords.

jvanrassel@calgaryherald.com



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