Toddler tragedy: Little girl hung by curtain cord, Coroner calls for regulation, safety improvements

A 19-month-old girl died when she got caught up in the cords of the roman blind in her bedroom. A Coroner has made sweeping safety recommendations as a result. Photo / 123RF

A Coroner has released details of the death of a toddler hung and fatally strangled by a curtain cord - saying while the case is horrifying and traumatic for her family, sharing what happened could prevent future deaths.

And she has called for strict and sweeping regulations in the window-coverings industry, saying five other Kiwi children have died in similar tragedies and much more needs to be done to save little lives.

In 2018 the 19-month-old girl was found unresponsive on her bedroom floor by her parents with the inner cord of the roman blind fixed to her window "tightly wrapped around her neck".

It is thought the little girl was trying to look out the window to see her father, who had returned home shortly after she was put to bed, and got caught in the inner cords and could not free herself.

Roman blinds have a cord that raises or drops the window covering and that is attached to a system of cords on the back that the child became entangled in.

The child was put to bed healthy and happy but later found unresponsive in her bedroom with a blind cord wrapped tightly around her neck. Photo / 123RF

A permanent suppression order means the child and her family can never be identified.

The Herald cannot publish the exact date or location of her death or any other information that might reveal who she is.

Her parents did not want to speak about her death.

Coroner Mary-Anne Borrowdale said this week that the loss of the little girl was "truly horrific" for her family - but it was crucial to create awareness around a potentially fatal safety issue.

After the death was referred to her she carried out extensive research into "the potential for asphyxiation of the young by window blind cords", finding it had been an "acknowledged risk for almost a century" around the world.

She said the dangers became evident as toddlers gained mobility and became more curious about their surroundings.

While they had the motor skills to access blind cords, they lacked the cognitive ability to understand the risk of strangulation - and the developmental maturity to free themselves if they got entangled.

"Window blind strangulation incidents can be fatal within minutes and can occur silently. In this regard, they are similar to child drownings," the Coroner's findings said.

"Accessible window blind cords should be considered as hazardous to young children as standing bodies of water."

Coroner Borrowdale also noted that due to their stage of development toddlers were particularly vulnerable to strangulation as their heads weigh proportionately more than their bodies.

And due to underdeveloped windpipes, if they became entangled by a cord wrapped around their neck they would suffocate "quickly and silently".

She revealed there were six cases of children being fatally strangled by blind cords since 2009.

"Of those six cases, all but one occurred as a result of entanglement in roman blind cords," she said.

"The statistics – each case representing a deeply tragic loss of life – are highly concerning, given the low public awareness of this hazard."

The child got caught in the inner cords of a roman blind similar to the one pictured, and could not free herself. Photo / 123RF

She said the public was aware of the danger of cords "to some extent" but may not be aware of the dangers of inner cords.

There are currently no mandatory regulations or enforceable requirements around blind cords - including design specifications, safety advice and the supply or installation of corded internal window coverings.

Coroner Borrowdale consulted with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment on the issue and said it was observed that even if there was future regulation on the supply of blinds, there was a remaining risk from legacy blinds

She noted that some larger suppliers of window coverings were already undertaking "responsible practice" and strongly recommending to customers that safety devices were purchased when ordering blinds - or that they should be retrofitted to existing blinds already installed - in areas where children may be present.

But she wanted more done to promote safety and prevent harm and death.

"It is impossible to supervise children constantly, and these events can happen quickly," she said.

"Primary prevention through product and environmental modification is the most effective agenda.

"To that end, safety standards have been legislated or adopted in many countries to help
prevent unintentional strangulation involving corded internal window coverings in domestic settings."

No such measures were in place in New Zealand which Coroner Borrowdale said was "regrettable".

"The family tragically affected by this death were unaware of the hazard posed by inner blind cords, located at the reverse of the blind," she said.

"Their custom-made blind was supplied with no safety information.

"Efforts to educate the New Zealand public on mitigating the hazard of blind cords have focused to date on the installation of cleats or cord-tidies out of the reach of children, and on ensuring that beds and other furniture are not located near to corded blinds.

"Those efforts, while laudable, are alone not sufficient to protect young New Zealanders from the risks of corded blinds."

She said the incidence of window cord fatalities here - and the availability of preventative devices - "readily make the case for mandatory regulation to address the risks".

"Education is not the only available mitigation… It is possible to both mitigate that existing risk, and to regulate future sales and installations so that the risk is not magnified," Coroner Borrowdale stated.

"Measures can be taken to reduce mortality caused by window covering cords. Each death
of this kind is an avoidable tragedy, when design modifications and technologies exist to protect against harm."

She said any regulation resulting from her recommendations must go "beyond mere product warnings and installation directions".

Those warnings were important but "not on their own sufficient".

She listed a number of points she wanted to see promoted around keeping children safe when blinds were installed and suggested the initiation of "something like a safety-tick approval system" to help people select appropriate window coverings.

"Education efforts should draw attention to the risks of corded blinds in ways that parents
are likely to find compelling," she said.

"Such as that death or severe injury can occur silently and rapidly, and that corded blinds are 'as much a hazard to young children as standing bodies of water'.'

Coroner Borrowdale further recommended that blind manufacturers, importers and sellers to "make it easy and low-cost - or costless - for occupants to replace or retro-fit safety enhancements to existing hazardous corded blinds".

"I further recommend that such a scheme should be considered by MBIE as something with which it could usefully organise and assist."

MBIE said it would take full account of this finding, including in giving potential
advice to the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.

KEEP YOUR FAMILY SAFE - THE CORONER'S TIPS

Coroner Borrowdale said prevention efforts needed to be focused on children who are at the greatest risk of severe injury.

"The children within that group of greatest risk include not only babies who might access long cords from within cots or bassinets, but also mobile toddlers and young children who might place themselves in the way of hazardous cords when moving about a dwelling," she said.

"There is good evidence to suggest that the risks are especially acute to children aged under three years."

Her safety messages are:

• Cordless and inaccessible window coverings are recommended for use in homes with young children, or in places regularly visited by them.

• Corded blinds should never be used in the bedrooms or playrooms of young children; even the most attentive parent cannot watch their child 100 per cent of the time, and most injuries occur in these places.

• Cord hazards can be found on the front, side and even on the back of blinds, so occupiers should examine their blinds to ensure that there are no cord hazards in any of these places.

• All cords of every type must be kept wholly outside the reach of a young child. This means that cords must be tidied safely out of reach, and that the child must be unable to reach any cord by standing on furniture, beds or other objects.

• Occupiers should regularly check their blinds to ensure that cords remain out of reach of a young child and do not have or cannot form hazardous loops.

• If loose blind cords are found by occupiers of dwellings where young children live or frequently visit, occupiers should consider replacing the blind or shade with another style that does not have exposed pull cords or inner cords.