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.