Product Liability Law Blog

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
backless with clip
• Evenflo Big Kid Amp
backless with clip
• Maxi-Cosi Rodi XR
• Recaro Young Sport
• Eddie Bauer Auto Booster
• Recaro Vivo

The IIHS GOOD BETS 2009 List:

• Combi Kobuk 
backless with clip
• Britax Parkway SG
• Maxi-Cosi Rodi
• Graco TurboBooster
SafeSeat Step 3, Wander
• Evenflo Symphony 65
• Graco TurboBooster
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" »

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Posted In: Child Car Safety Seats , Injuries to Children & Minors , Kids in Cars

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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

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Posted In: Child Car Safety Seats , Injuries to Children & Minors , Kids in Cars

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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

Posted by Gilbert, Ollanik, & Komyatte, P.C. | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Child Car Safety Seats , Defective Seatbelt and Restraint System Cases , Injuries to Children & Minors , Kids in Cars

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