LOUISVILLE, Ky. — We all know buying the right car seat can be a hard and sometimes expensive purchase. While you’re looking for the best deals, however, hospital workers have a warning.

Specifically, these health care professionals caution buyers to be on the lookout for counterfeit merchandise.

“It’s sickening to think that somebody could be getting a car seat, something that’s supposed to save their child’s life and in turn get something that’s very dangerous and can make it worse,” said Kinzie Evrard, coordinator of injury prevention and Safe Kids Louisville for Norton Children’s Prevention and Wellness.

So how do you know if you are buying a legitimate car seat? Evrard explained there are 3 separate labels you should look for before making a purchase.

“It will have this warning label right here and it will state, for U.S. uses this child restraint system conforms to all applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards,” Evrard said. “You’re also looking for a manufacturer label, and then it should come with an owner’s manual and a notice stating it was approved.”

In America, car seats have to pass a sled test going 30 miles per hour. This test shows different crash force performance on a variety of weighted dummies. Any seat must pass the trial before being approved. The dangers of purchasing a counterfeit car seat go far beyond just being in an accident.

Evrard also mentioned to make sure children are not wearing bulky jackets, including winter coats and snowsuits underneath the harness. The reason is the fluffiness in the coat will flatten during a car accident, leaving an extra space under the harness and a child can slip through the straps.

“We see that car seats are made up of a lot of plastic and they are designed to absorb that crash force and help the child ride down the crash,” Evrard said. “If it’s a counterfeit car seat, the whole car seat could just fall apart and none of that crash force is going to be absorbed and therefore the child can be seriously hurt or killed.”

Nurses and employees of Norton Children’s are trained to be car seat technicians. Something that came in handy earlier this month, when staff intercepted a counterfeit car seat intended for a 4-month-old patient being discharged.

“When they were pointing out features of the harness in the car seat, they realized that it just did not appear to be your standard car seat,” Evrard said. “They looked for that federal label and could not find it, and they deemed that to be a counterfeit car seat.”

Norton Children’s staff made sure the patient was safely transported in an authentic car seat.