Product Liability Law Blog

Car seat manufacturer Britax Child Safety Inc. has announced the recall of thousands of Chaperone Infant Child Restraint Systems over concerns that the harness adjuster may detach, failing to properly restrain a child in the event of a car crash. About 14,220 of the child safety seats that are affected in the US. Another 3,600 are part of a recall in Canada. The models involved were manufactured between 9/10 and 4/11 and are the:

• E9L692M
• E9L692K
• E9L692L
• E9L692J

Britax said it has received over 50 complaints involving the seat-harness adjuster separating from the car seat. The adjuster is supposed to loosen and tighten the belts that are supposed to keep the child properly secured. If the belts fail, the boy or girl in the car seat may not stay safely restrained during a collision. Britax says it isn't aware of any injuries caused by this product defect.

Our child products liability lawyers cannot stress the importance of not only using a car seat that is working properly but also one that is the right size for your son or daughter. Not every car seat will work for every child nor will it work in every car. You must make sure that the seat is the right fit for a child's height, weight, and age. You must also make sure that the child is properly harnessed to the seat so that in the event of a collision, he/she is protected as much as possible from the impact of the crash and stays safely seated.

Unfortunately, even when a guardian or parent does everything possible to make sure that a child is securely seated in the right car seat, there are design defects and malfunctions that can occur. A child whose car seat malfunctions or is defective may end up thrown into the seat in front, against or through the back window, or out of the vehicle. In the event of a rollover accident, the child or infant may end up striking the roof of the car. Traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, broken bones, organ damage, other serious injuries, and/or death may result.

At The Gilbert Law Group, our car seat defect lawyers are experienced in pursuing personal injury damages from child car safety seat manufacturers. Over the years, we have secured verdicts and settlements worth millions of dollars for kids and their families.

Read the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Announcement of Britax's Latest Child Safety Seat Recall

Britax USA

Car Safety

Car Seats, Consumer Reports

More Blog Posts:
NHTSA Announces New Child Seat Guidelines, Product Liability Law Blog, March 21, 2011

794,247 Dorel Juvenile Group Child Safety Seats Recalled by NHTSA Over Safety Harness Issue, Product Liability Law Blog, February 21, 2011

About 23,000 Britax Child Safety Seats Recalled, Product Liability Law Blog, November 7, 2010

Continue reading "Faulty Harness Adjusters Prompts Britax to Recall Over 14,000 Child Safety Seats " »

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has unveiled new child restraint guidelines that are categorized by age instead of the type of child seat. NHTSA wants children to use the restraint type recommended for each age for as long as possible before moving on to the next recommended child safety seat. Hopefully, these new guidelines will decrease the number of child injuries during car crashes.

NHTSA's car seat recommendations:
Up to 12 months: A rear-facing car seat.

1 to 3 years: A rear-facing car seat for as long as possible is recommended. NHTSA says to keep the child in this seat until he/she hits the weight or height limit allowed by the car seat manufacturer.

4 to 7 years: A forward-facing seat with a harness is best until he/she hits the weight or height limit.

8 to 12 years: A booster seat. The child should use a booster seat until he/she is big enough to use just a seat belt. Remember, the seat belt's lap belt should be able to snuggly go across the upper thighs (not the stomach) and it should also be snug over the chest and shoulder (not the face or neck). Previously, booster seats were recommended until only age 8.

Meantime, the American Academy of Pediatrics, which published a new policy in Pediatrics' April 2011 issue, advices that toddler should be kept in rear-facing car seats until they either turn 2 or grow bigger than the weight or height limit for the car seat. This is a revision of its previous age 1 recommendation for when to face the child safety seat forward.

According to a 2007 study in the journal Injury Prevention, children younger than 2 are 75% less likely to die if they are seated in a rear-facing child safety seat. On CNN.com, pediatric emergency doctor Dennis Durbin is quoted as saying that one reason that rear-facing child safety seats are safer is that they are better at supporting the spine, neck, and head during a car crash.

Our child injury lawyers represent families of kids hurt in car crashes because a child car seat was defective or failed in some way. Manufacturers must make sure that their products not only adhere to standards set by the government but also, they must be safe for use. Otherwise, injury or death can be grounds for a products liability case.

New Age-Focused Guidelines Help Parents Make More Informed Choices, NHTSA, March 21, 2011

AAP: Toddlers in rear-facing seat until 2, CNN, March 21, 2011

Child Safety-Seat Recommendations, Revamped, ABC News, March 21, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Car Seat Recommendations for Children, NHTSA (PDF)

Pediatrics

Dorel Juvenile Group (DJG) is recalling 794,247 child safety seats over concerns that a harness safety issue could place a child occupant at risk of serious injury during a car accident. If the harness locking and release button doesn't go back to its locked position, the harness might come loose while the child is seated in the DJG car seat.

DJG will be giving consumers a remedy kit that will include a lubricant that can be applied to the harness's center front adjuster so that it doesn't stick. Even before the remedy has been applied, the child safety seat can still be used as long as the lock/release button is completely in the locked position and the harness has been properly adjusted.

Child Safety Seat Lawsuits
With car crashes as the leading cause of child deaths, it is important that young children and infants are seated in child safety and booster seats when riding in motor vehicles. However, as our child injury lawyers have mentioned in the past, it is equally important that these child safety restraint systems are free from defects so that they don't malfunction, potentially allowing or causing a child or baby to sustain serious injuries during a traffic crash.

Unfortunately, there are child safety seats that do not meet even the minimum safety requirements of the National Transportation Safety Board. There is also the issue of inadequate instructions for proper assembly and use.

Our child safety seat lawyers know how to identify the safety issue(s) that may have caused a child safety seat to fail, such as:

• Handle defects
• Faulty shells
• Base separation
• Poor construction
• Harness safety issues
• Inadequate instructions

Over the years, we have successfully represented children and their families with products liability lawsuits against the manufacturers of defective child safety seats.

Consumer Advisory: Dorel Recalling Nearly 800,000 Child Safety Seats For Safety Harness Issue, NHTSA, February 14, 2011

Related Web Resources:
SeatCheck.org

Dorel Juvenile Group

More Product Liability Law Blog Posts:
About 23,000 Britax Child Safety Seats Recalled, Product Liability Law Blog, November 7, 2010

Evenflo Maestro Car Seats Recalled After They Fail "Consumer Reports" Crash Test, Product Liability Law Blog, October 18, 2010

Child Passenger Safety Week: Protecting Your Child with the Proper Child Safety Seat, Product Liability Law Blog, September 22, 2010

Continue reading "794,247 Dorel Juvenile Group Child Safety Seats Recalled by NHTSA Over Safety Harness Issue" »

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission and Britax Child Safety Inc. have announced the recall of about 23,000 Chaperone Infant car seats. The recall comes after the manufacturer received three reports of minor injuries sustained because the seat's harness chest clip broke and became a laceration danger and a choking hazard.

Injuries reported have included scratches to the arms and a finger related to the child seat defect. One infant reportedly put the chip in his mouth.

Parents, guardians, and caretakers are asked to stop allowing the babies and young children to use the car seats. If you contact Britax, the manufacturer can send you a free repair kit.

It was just last month that Evenflo recalled more than 18,000 Maestro child safety seats because they failed a frontal-impact crash test conducted by Consumer Reports. Two of the seats that were tested ended up with a harness that had come loose and a crack shell. No injuries to children were reported.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2008, research showed that child safety seats reduces fatal crash injuries for infants in the under the 1 age group by 71%. It lowers the number of fatal car crash injuries for kids in the 1 to 4 age group by 54%. When a child is securely fastened in a child safety seat while riding in a light truck, the reduction in fatal injuries for infants is 58%. It is 59% for the 1 – 4 age group.

Unfortunately, even if a parent or caretaker secures a child in a safety restrain system that is the right size and type, if the child safety seat isn't free from defects and/or malfunctions, then their attempts to protect their son/or daughter from getting hurt or dying in a car crash can prove futile.

Manufacturers of defective child car seats and booster seats can be held liable for products liability.

Infant Car Seats Recalled by Britax Due to Laceration and Choking Hazards, Consumer Product Safety Commission, November 4, 2010

Occupant Protection, 2008 Child Safety Facts, NHTSA (PDF)

Evenflo Maestro Car Seats Recalled After They Fail "Consumer Reports" Crash Test, Product Liability Law Blog.com, October 18, 2010

Child Passenger Safety Week: Protecting Your Child with the Proper Child Safety Seat, Product Liability Law Blog.com, September 22, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Car Safety Seats: Information for Families for 2010, Healthy Children, American Academy of Pediatrics

SeatCheck.org

Continue reading "About 23,000 Britax Child Safety Seats Recalled" »

Evenflo Company, Inc., a leading maker of child and baby gear, is recalling over 18,000 Evenflo Maestro child car seats in the US and Canada after the safety seats failed a Consumer Reports crash test. During the simulated 30-mph frontal-impact crash test, Consumer Reports found that two of the seat units' plastic shell cracked and their harness loosened. No injuries or deaths related to the safety issues have been reported to date.

Now, although Evenflo says that when it conducted tests to verify Consumer Reports' findings no such product flaws developed, the manufacturer has voluntarily recalled 13,792 units in the US and 4,479 units in Canada. The units that were recalled in the US were made before April 10, 2010.

Owners can obtain a free repair kit to fix the safety issue. Evenflo will provide a metal reinforcement plate that will provide better support.

Child Car Safety Seat Defects
Our child injury lawyers cannot stress the importance of making sure that your child is seated in not just the right safety seat for his/her size, but also that the car seat is free from defects that could cause it to malfunction during a car crash. It is essential that your son or daughter is properly secured at all times or the likelihood of serious injury or death during a traffic collision goes up.

According to University of Alabama at Birmingham professor Martha Bidez, Ph.D., US car safety polices for child passengers are among the weakest in the developed world. Despite the fact that car crashes continue to be the number one cause of death for US kids, ages 3 to 14, Bidez, an advocate for better US child protection standards,says that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration still refuses to adopt mandatory, stringent crash testing of child restraints. She also contends that the US is falling behind other countries when it comes to protecting child passengers. Meantime, South America has just adopted a child-restraint-testing program as part of its Latin NCAP (New Car Assessment Program). Australia and Europe have used child dummies in rear seats during crash tests a number of years.

Lax U.S. standards for rear-seat restraints put kids at risk, UAB expert says, UAB Media Relations

Evenflo Maestro Car Seat Recalled After Failing Consumer Reports Crash Test, PR Newswire/Consumer Reports

Evenflo Initiates Voluntary Safety Recall of Certain Combination Booster Seats, Evenflo, October 15, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Car Safety Seats: Information for Families for 2010, Healthy Children

Consumer Reports

Child Safety, NHTSA

Continue reading "Evenflo Maestro Car Seats Recalled After They Fail "Consumer Reports" Crash Test" »

This week—September 19 to 25—is Child Passenger Safety Week. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration uses this time to remind parents, guardians, and others of the importance of making sure that children are securely fastened when riding in motor vehicles.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's 2008 Traffic Safety Facts:

• Motor vehicle crashes are the number one cause of fatalities for kids between the ages 3 and 14.
• About 4 kids in this age group are killed a day in US traffic crashes, while another 529 are injured.

There is no doubt that safety restraints can save lives. In 2008, seat belts saved some 12,250 people over the age of 4. 17,402 others could have been saved if everyone in the 5 and over age group had worn seat belts.

As for children in the 4 and under age group, The NHTSA says that child safety restraints reduce fatalities for infants (under age 1) by 71% and by 54% for toddlers (ages 1 to 4). Some 244 kids in the 4 and under age group were saved because of safety restraint use. If all kids under age 5 had used seat belts, some 323 children wouldn't have died that year.

Of course, using the appropriate safety restraint for your child—whether a regular seat belt, child safety seat, or a seat belt accompanied by a booster seat—is not enough. The restraint device must be appropriate for the child's age, weight, and height, free from defects, and installed and used correctly. While parents, guardians, and other caregivers must make sure that children are properly secured, it is also up to the safety restraint manufacturer to make sure that their child safety seat or seat belt has no defects, doesn't malfunction, and comes with the proper instructions for installation and/or use.

If your son or daughter was injured because of a child seat defect, a seat belt malfunction, or because of the safety restraint system came with poor instructions, our child injury lawyers want to hear from you. You may be able to pursue a child products liability lawsuit against the negligent manufacturer, as well as personal injury or wrongful death complaints against other responsible parties.

National Seat Check Saturday
September 25, 2010 is National Seat Check Saturday. Find a child safety seat inspection site near you and let a certified technician inspect your child's safety seat to make sure it is correctly installed. The check is free! The technician can also show you how to use the child safety restraint properly.

Child Passenger Safety Week, NHTSA

Occupant Protection, 2008 Traffic Safety Facts (PDF)

Car Safety Seats: Information for Families for 2010, Healthy Children/American Academy of Pediatrics

Seatcheck.org

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has published its newest booster seat ratings to help consumers choose the child safety seat that most safely fits their vehicle. Out of 60 booster seats, the IIHS is offering 9 BEST BETS and 6 GOOD BETS based on their ability to fit with vehicle seat belts so that a child is kept secure and protected during a car crash. The IIHS is not recommending 11 of the child safety seats it examined because it says that they don't allow vehicle seat belts to properly fit over child occupants.

Nearly all of the models sold in the United States were included in this latest round of booster seat evaluations. The IIHS intends to rate future models as they are released.

Our child products liability lawyers know how devastating it can be to have your child seriously injured in a car crash because the booster seat that you thought would keep your baby safe was defective, poorly made, or unsafe. It is important that you are given the information that will allow you to select a seat that will keep your child secure during a motor vehicle crash.

Booster Seats that Made the IIHS 2009 BEST BETS LIST:

• Clek Oobr
• Cosco Juvenile Pronto
• Britax Frontier
• Combi Dakota‚Ä®backless with clip
• Evenflo Big Kid Amp‚Ä®backless with clip
• Maxi-Cosi Rodi XR
• Recaro Young Sport
• Eddie Bauer Auto Booster
• Recaro Vivo

The IIHS GOOD BETS 2009 List:

• Combi Kobuk ‚Ä®backless with clip
• Britax Parkway SG
• Maxi-Cosi Rodi
• Graco TurboBooster‚Ä®SafeSeat Step 3, Wander
• Evenflo Symphony 65
• Graco TurboBooster‚Ä®SafeSeat Step 3, Sachi

The NOT RECOMMENDED 2009 Booster Seat List:

• Alpha Omega
• Safety 1st All-in-One
• Alpha Omega Elite
• Eddie Bauer Deluxe
• Combi Kobuk
• Eddie Bauer Deluxe 3-in-1
• Harmony Secure Comfort Deluxe
• Evenflo Sightseer
• Evenflo Express
• Safety 1st Alpha Omega Elite
• Alpha Omega Luxe Echelon

A booster seat is supposed to position your son or daughter in a manner that will allow the vehicle's seat belt to fit over the body better. The shoulder belt should snugly cross over the center of the child's shoulder and the lap belt should fit over the child's upper thighs rather than the soft abdomen area. Failure to ensure a proper fit can result in traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, organ injuries, and death during an auto accident.

It is the responsibility of booster seat manufacturers to make child safety seats that can keep kids safe, are defect free, come with clear instructions for proper use, and caution against any unforeseen hazards.

New booster ratings: 9 BEST BETS & 6 GOOD BETS; 11 out of 60 seats evaluated aren't recommended, IIHS, December 22, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Child Passenger Safety - Studies and Reports, NHTSA

Car Seats, Consumer Reports

Continue reading "IIHS's New Booster Seat Ratings Offers 9 Best Bets; Doesn't Recommend 11 Child Safety Seats Because of Poor Fit with Seat Belts" »

Our child seat defect lawyers have handled many cases involving injuries to children and babies who were seated in defective car seats that malfunctioned during motor vehicle crashes. Now, a new study is reporting that infant car seats are involved in thousands of injuries that occur when the safety device is used outside a motor vehicle.

It is indisputable that child car safety seats are necessary and have saved thousands of lives during motor vehicle crashes—that is, as long as the safety device isn't defective or didn't malfunction. However, many car seats are also used as handheld baby carriers or can be strapped into a stroller. While this way of traveling and carrying a child may seem convenient and efficient, it isn't always safe.

According to Shital Parikh, the study's author and a pediatric orthopedist at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, over 43,000 infants in this country who ended up in emergency rooms between 2003 and 2007 got hurt when they fell from child car safety seats that were placed on counters, tables, and other elevated locations. Fall accidents also occurred when the car seats rolled over after they were placed on sofas, beds, and other soft surfaces (increasing the risk of suffocation) or when babies, left unrestrained in the seats, made movements that caused the safety device to fall or tilt over.

Head injuries, fractures, and dislocations were the most common injuries resulting from falls from child safety seats. Three babies died from their injuries.

Per the study, which was based on information from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, 62% of infants injured were younger than 4 months. 8% were hospitalized. Approximately 50% of accidents took place at home.

Parikh is recommending that a child only be placed in an infant car seat when he or she is seated in the vehicle. Otherwise, the baby should be removed from the safety device. Some physical therapists have also raised concerns that babies may be suffering from "container syndrome" caused by too much time on their backs.

Parikh is calling on car seat makers to include warnings about the dangers that can arise when the products are used incorrectly. He also wants them to let parents and guardians know exactly how the child car safety seats should be used. He thinks that car seat manufacturers should design more child car seats.

While there are steps that you can take to make sure that you've purchased the right seat for your child and the vehicle and that the safety device is properly assembled and your son or daughter is properly secured, unfortunately there are many child car safety seats that are designed defectively and can cause more harm than good during a catastrophic car crash.

Contact our auto products liability lawyers today about your injuries to children case.

Car seats can be dangerous outside the car, USA Today, October 19, 2009

Babies Injured in Car Seats Used Outside of Cars, AJC, October 20, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Child Passenger Safety, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

American Academy of Pediatrics

Crash Survivor Network

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is sponsoring Child Passenger Safety Week. From September 12 – 18, parents can go to a free safety seat inspection station where safety technicians can show them how to properly install a child safety seat. Please click on the link provided below to find an inspection station near you.

The NHTSA says child safety seat use is at its highest ever:

Kids 0-12 months: 99% child safety seat use
1-3 years: 92% child safety seat use
4-7 years: 89% child safety seat use

Also, drivers who used seat belts were more likely to place children in child safety seats than motorists who were unbelted.

Thousands of safety seat inspection sites have been set up throughout the US. While the NHTSA has found that most young children are using child safety seats many of them are not properly secured in the restraint devices. This means that these kids are still susceptible to the dangers that parents are trying to avoid by properly restraining them.

Out of every four child restraint systems in use, three of them aren't used correctly. In some instances, the seats that were selected for certain children was not appropriate for their weight or age, children were not properly secured in their seats, or the restraint systems were not correctly attached to vehicles.

Our child seat defect law firm cannot emphasize enough how important it is that you choose the right child safety seat for your son or daughter. Not only should the restraint system be the appropriate one for your child's age and weight, but you must make sure that your child and the restraint system are secured correctly. It is also the responsibility of the child safety seat manufacturer to make sure that the seat is free from design or malfunction defects, comes with the proper and complete instructions, is marketed correctly and appropriately, and warns of any risks and dangers that can result from use. Defects to child safety seats can prove fatal during a car crash and may result in traumatic brain injuries, crush injuries, and even death.

Our child seat defect lawyers are nationally recognized for our work representing clients with injuries to minors cases whose children were hurt in auto accidents because a child safety seat manufacturer was negligent or because of some auto defect that proved catastrophic.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Launches Child Passenger Safety Week, NHTSA, September 10, 2009

Child Restraint Use in 2008 (PDF)

Related Web Resources:
Car Safety Seats: A Guide for Families 2009, American Academy of Pediatrics

Seat Inspection Station Locator