Parents often splurge on gear or toys to celebrate the milestone of having a new baby. Unfortunately, not everything available in the market goes through mandatory safety testing.
While manufacturers have a duty of care to their consumers to sell safe products, some companies still refuse to comply with industry standards. Their noncompliance can result in dangerous defects that may pose risks to users or, in this case, an innocent infant.
Still, although some companies design their products with good intentions, their obligation extends to properly informing the buying public of possibly fatal threats. They must also adhere to product safety requirements and evaluation.
Avoiding potentially hazardous baby products
Consumer Reports (CR) safety experts warn parents to constantly check for reviews or the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s recall announcements before purchasing items.
CR identifies the following five high-risk baby products that parents must be careful of:
- Loungers: Cushioned sides can cause suffocation when babies roll or get stuck in a position that can block their breathing.
- Bouncing play centers: Support straps may not be strong enough to hold the structure together, resulting in babies falling off the ground or dangling on their sides.
- Neck floats: Instead of being a water therapy tool, babies can have neck strain injuries or tend to slide down the water at the risk of drowning.
- Weighted blankets or swaddles: The weight pressure on babies’ chests may be too much for them to handle, causing breathing troubles.
- Water beads: These sensory balls can be a choking hazard or impair the lungs when ingested or inhaled.
Ultimately, it is critical for parents and other caregivers to monitor their vulnerable children deliberately. For example, pediatricians recommend utilizing loungers on supervised awake time, instead of during long naps or overnight sleeping hours. Similarly, adults must also strictly oversee bath or pool time because babies tend to slip through the neck hole of their floats.
Taking extra vigilance
With too much on the line, parents cannot leave their babies’ products to chance. But even the most alert guardian may still have an injured baby. After all, it only takes a moment of not closely keeping an eye on a baby for them to suffer injuries, maybe even death. When tragedy happens, a Pennsylvania legal representative can help recover necessary damages by establishing a product liability claim against responsible parties.
