Auto Products Liability: Child Safety Seat Defects and Failures
According to the CDC Department of Health and Human Services, motor vehicle injuries are the leading cause of death among children in the United States. This is a tragic statistic, one that Illinois personal injury lawyers who represent these cases sincerely hope will decline as manufacturers improve the design of their occupant restraint devices.
Occupant Restraint Devices – which include child car seats and seat belts - were designed to save lives, and they certainly do. According to the NHTSA, 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 (2006).
Unfortunately, these life-saving devices sometimes fail, causing severe injury to babies, children and adults. In some tragic instances, a life may be taken. Chicago personal injury attorneys who specialize in these types of auto accident cases typically become involved when manufacturer liability or negligence is suspected.
In Illinois, personal injury lawyers find the reason children are most often seriously inured or killed in an auto accident is because of a defective child safety seat. In addition, most vehicles are not properly equipped for child safety seats, which means many parents are unknowingly putting their children at risk every time they get in the car.
Fortunately, placing children in age- and size-appropriate restraint systems can reduce serious and fatal injuries by more than half, according to NHTSA. But many critics still believe infants are far from safe in their car seats. (Read a Consumer Reports article stirring the crash test debate.)
If your infant or toddler was injured in an automobile accident and you believe a defective product may be to blame, contact a Chicago personal injury attorney right away.
For a comprehensive list of recalls for child and booster seats (from manufacturers) as well as recalls of motor vehicles with integral child safety seats, visit the NHTSA (Office of Defects) Child Safety Seat Recall Campaign.
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