New Jersey parents may be familiar with a study conducted by Nationwide Children’s hospital that showed how nursery-related items are becoming more dangerous to infants. The study found that more than 66,000 children ages three and under visit emergency rooms yearly for injuries they incurred from accidents involving nursery-related products.
The study, which was published in the Pediatrics journal, evaluated emergency room visits from 1991 to 2011 and learned that infant injuries stemming from nursery items spiked about 25 percent during the last eight years of the 21-year research. Nursery items include changing tables, bouncers and baby walkers. About 80 percent of the injuries the infants suffered were to their neck, face or head. Of the injuries, 20 percent were from baby carriers, 19 percent were from mattresses or cribs and 17 percent were stroller-related.
One of the study’s researchers said the product’s manufacturers are to blame, rather than parents. She explained that the amount of injuries would decline if manufacturers designed their products in a user-friendly way. In fact, when the study was conducted in 2001, its lead author wrote about the dangers of baby walkers, and in response baby walker manufacturers redesigned the products, making them wider and less likely to roll down stairways.
However, parents can be proactive when purchasing nursery products by remembering four Rs: research, recalls, register and read. Researching for the safest products, checking for recalls, registering the product and reading manuals completely could lessen the chances for accidents. They should also avoid using old car seats and cribs made prior to June 2011 due to updated safety features.
Parents whose infants were severely injured because of a defective baby product might wish to pursue compensation from a manufacturer for medical expenses. A local attorney familiar with the Products Liability Act of New Jersey could greatly assist the family with the case.Source: USA Today, “Study: Every eight minutes, a baby is injured using a nursery product”, Ashley May, March 13, 2017
