Finding a bargain at a garage sale or flea market can be great, but one news source reports that consumers should avoid buying certain products second-hand in order to avoid purchasing something that’s been recalled or that carries an inherent safety risk.
Items to avoid buying used:
Cribs. Poorly made cribs, specifically drop-side cribs, pose a serious safety risk to children. According to the Consumer Protection Safety Commission, over 11 million dangerous cribs were recalled between 2007 and 2010. At least 32 infant suffocation and strangulation deaths between 2000 and 2010 were associated with drop-side cribs with detaching side rails. Faulty of defective crib hardware has contributed to other deaths. New standards have been instituted to shore up crib safety, but older, less safe cribs are still readily available on the second-hand market.
Bicycle helmets. Helmets weaken and become less effective over time. Environmental factors like ozone and sunlight degrade the plastic. Above all, once a bicycle helmet has been involved in crash it will no longer provide the same level of protection as it previously did. Because there is no way to know the crash history of a helmet, avoid buying a used one. As a side note, if cost is a concern, inexpensive helmets offer the same protection as inexpensive ones.
The safety of you and your family is of utmost importance. As a Los Angeles personal injury lawyer, I have taken it upon myself to not only help people after they have been injured, but to also help people avoid injury in the first place. Other products to avoid purchasing second-hand will be posted in another blog.