Defective Child Car Seat Lawyer

As a child safety advocate, Attorney Jeffrey Killino understands the emotional turmoil a parent goes through when their little one is hurt because of a supposedly safe product. It seems every day we are told of yet another recall or learn of a defective product such as an infant or child car seat. As a parent, when you walk into a store, you are inundated with a host of products geared toward your infant, toddler, older child or teenager. All these products come with a reasonable expectation of safety. Your child’s car seat is no exception. Car seats are a legal requirement in every state. Over the years, they have saved countless infants from severe injury or death in car accidents. Unfortunately, some unsuspecting parents have purchased a car seat only to be let down at crucial moments. Research shows that from 1998 to 2001, four major manufacturers of child safety seats announced five recalls involving as many as 10 million car seats.

What Parents Need to Know

When parents purchase specific products, such as infant, toddler and child car seats, they assume what they are buying are safe products. But over the years, numerous recalls have shown that child seat problems often revolve around problems such as defective handles. Statistics show that Nearly 500 injuries to infants have occurred since 1998 on recalled car seat/carrier models–to both restrained and unrestrained children. In fact, back in 2003, The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recalled as many as four million infant car seats/carriers, manufactured by Century Products. The problem centered around handles, which could break when the car seat was used as an infant carrier. Century quickly provided replacement handles to keep babies safe and secure.

The recall was issued after Century received more than 2,700 reports of handle-related problems, including handles breaking, cracking or possibly not being locked while the seat is being used as a carrier. In addition to these reports, Century has also received over 200 reports of injury, including concussions, skull fractures, lacerations, broken bones, bruises, and scratches as a result of such handle-related problems.

Car Seat Injuries: Causes and Outcomes

One of the biggest threats to child safety is car accidents. Automobile crashes are the single largest cause of death among children between the ages of five and eight – the age up to which it is advisable to use child safety restraints to secure children – according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Unfortunately, many of these deaths could have been avoided if the child restraints had worked properly.

A car seat can be flawed in many dangerous ways. Unfortunately, these flaws are not always apparent until it is too late. Many parents have bought seats that appeared safe, and were even produced by respected corporations, only to discover flaws like:

• Straps made from low quality materials which tear too easily or are highly flammable
• Faulty latches that come undone when mild force is applied
• Latches that are too difficult to undo, making it hard to remove the child during an emergency
• Weak frames or cushions that come undone too easily
• Faulty strap adjusters, making the straps too loose or too tight

Defects such as these can turn a minor car accident in a medical emergency. Small children can be thrown from their seats, trapped in place, or even injured by car seats themselves. Car seat defect attorney Jeffrey Killino and is exceptional legal team is dedicated to holding manufacturers of these potentially dangerous products responsible.

Statistics

Statistics show us that child safety seats reduce the risk of death in passenger cars by 71% for infants, and by 54% for toddlers ages 1 to 4 years. Research also shows that if ejected from the vehicle, an occupant is four times more likely to die and 14 times more likely to receive cervical spine injuries.

• In 2004, there were 495 passenger vehicle occupant fatalities among children under 5 years of age. Of those 495 fatalities, an estimated 173 (35 %) were totally unrestrained.
• Among children under 5 years old, an estimated 451 lives were saved in 2004 by child restraint use. Of these 451 lives saved, 413 were associated with the use of child safety seats and 38 with the use of adult belts.
• While 96 percent of parents and caregivers believe their child safety seats are installed correctly, research shows that seven out of 10 children are improperly restrained.

Contact Child Car Seat Injury Attorney Jeffery Killino

Over the years, several important steps toward safety have been taken by the government and retailers, but many infants, babies, and children still suffer injury. If your child has suffered an injury during an auto accident and was properly riding in a child car seat, contact us today. As a defective infant and child car seat attorney, Jeffrey Killino can speak with you on whether you may file a claim against a child car seat manufacturer. He and his legal team are knowledgeable about infant and car seat flaws and will exhaustively investigate a possible defect that may have caused your child’s injury or death. He will make sure every responsible party is held accountable. Contact Attorney Jeffrey Killino today.