Child Restraint

Precious cargo. Parents and caregivers go to enormous lengths and expense to provide the best safety protection for their children. Improvements in child safety restraint seats have come a long way and in most cases have improved safety and reduced the risk of injury to children. Sadly, thousands of young passengers are seriously injured or killed in car crashes on U.S. roadways every year when child restraint systems fail to perform as designed. The effectiveness of these child safety products hinges on the trust placed in manufacturers to make products that are not unnecessarily dangerous. When child restraint seats are improperly designed or manufactured with substandard components, manufacturers and retailers must quickly notify the public and fix or replace these products. When faulty child restraints and baby car seats are responsible for injuries, manufacturers too often attempt to shift blame and employ delay tactics rather than own up to their responsibility.

It’s not easy to find the right car seat for a child. There are a dizzying array of sizes, types and price points depending on a child’s age and size. While parents try to do their very best to select the safest child restraint for their children, trust in these products starts with confidence that child restraint seat manufacturers will meet fundamental obligations to manufacture safe products and correct safety defects quickly. Tragically, it often takes a stiff financial penalty from government regulators or a lawsuit to get their attention and force action.

Common child seat restraint design and manufacturer defects include:

  • weak shells
  • defective handles
  • flammable materials
  • base/shell separation and weak construction
  • sudden releases due to defective harnessing systems
  • unanticipated rotation

A list of child safety seat recalls can be found here: http://www.seatcheck.org/tips_seat_recall_list.html

The Farrar & Ball trial team has experience investigating child seat restraint injuries and holding manufacturers accountable. To learn more about Farrar & Ball’s expertise in litigation involving defective child restraints, please contact the firm here.

Video & Visuals

Tire Demo without Nylon Wedge

This video animation demonstrates how steel belts inside a tire without a nylon wedge can generate dangerous amounts of friction. Learn More

Michelin Tire Recommendations

Corporate tire industry video documents safety concerns when two new tires are mounted on back of vehicle. Learn More

Tire Demo with Belt Wedge

This demonstrative evidence video animation is used to show jurors the components of a tire and illustrates how tires without “belt wedges” can generate dangerous friction between the steel belts. Learn More

Modern Tire Diagram

This demonstrative evidence image shows a cross section of a modern tire with liners, belts, nylon overlay and undertread. Learn More

Replacing Tires Guidelines

Corporate tire industry video explains safety and performance issues when only two tires are replaced on a vehicle, and how vehicle handling is affected by placement of tires. Learn More

Tread Separation Test

Video created by Carr Engineering Inc. to document a tread separation test with a Ford Explorer. Test shows that even an expert driver with knowledge that a tread separation event is imminent still cannot maintain control of the vehicle. Learn More

Tire Demo with Nylon Over Wrap

A video animation used as demonstrative evidence to illustrate for jurors the components of a tire, including belts, liners and tread base. This animation demonstrates how two belt liners rubbing together can create friction that leads to tire failure. Learn More

Ford Explorer Crash Testing

Short video documenting an SUV on a test track flipping and rolling, then crashing into a guard rail. Learn More

Nylon Safety Strips

Demonstrative evidence illustration used to explain to jurors the components of a tire designed with nylon safety strips in addition to steel belts. Learn More

Nylon Safety Belt

Side-by-side demonstrative evidence used to explain to jurors the differences between a cap ply tire with a nylon safety belt compared to a traditional steel-belted tire. Learn More

Mercury Mountaineer Tire Testing

Demonstrative evidence showing three different camera angles of a 2001 Mercury Moutaineer performing a controlled maneuver with a defective tire. Learn More

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