Car accidents cause serious injuries to adults, so it shouldn’t be surprising that children can suffer even worse injuries. Car accident claims involving children are somewhat different, since there might be more defendants to sue, including the manufacturer of a defective car or booster seat. These seats are designed to protect children until they reach a certain size. Sadly, many booster or car seats are designed improperly, or they are made of weak materials. They can break apart and fail to restrain your child. Contact Ball, Kirk, & Holm, P.C.
We have an active product liability practice. A Des Moines personal injury lawyer will happily meet to go over what you remember of the wreck. We can also inspect your car seat for hidden flaws which caused it to fail when you needed it to work. Call today to schedule a free consultation. We have offices in Waterloo and Iowa City, and we can meet at a convenient location to discuss how the accident intersects with your legal rights.
Iowa’s Law on Car Seats
According to statistics, a properly installed and functioning car seat can reduce fatal injuries by 70%. This is one reason the state requires that you use the right seat for your child until they are old enough.
These are general guidelines provided by the Iowa Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau:
- Your child should be in a rear-facing infant carrier from birth until they reach the upper weight or height limit for the seat. Most children can stay in an infant carrier until they reach 40 pounds.
- Use a forward-facing seat with a five-point harness once your child is too big for the rear-facing carrier. You can use the forward-facing seat until your child reaches the maximum height or weight. Many forward seats are fine until your child reaches 50-90 pounds.
- Transition your child to a booster seat after that. Booster seats are used with the lap and shoulder belt. They position your child so that he or she isn’t strangled if you get into an accident. Use the booster seat until your child reaches the maximum weight or height.
- Your child can transition to a seatbelt without a booster seat after that.
How Car Seats Are Defective
A well-designed booster or safety seat should restrain your child in an accident. Unfortunately, seats can malfunction in different ways:
- Faulty chest clips or latches. You might have buckled your child in, but the latches are so weak that the seat breaks free in a collision. Your child can fly through the vehicle.
- Weak straps. The straps should keep your child in the seat, but they might be weak.
- Defective base units. The seat could detach from a weak base, which might not be designed to withstand force against it.
- Insufficient padding. The padding might be insufficient to cushion your child’s head in a collision.
- Defective padding. Some foam padding comes out of the seat, and your child could actually swallow pieces and possibly choke.
- Sharp edges. Your child could suffer cuts in an accident when they scrape against metal or sharp plastic pieces.
Your booster or car seat could also be defective because of insufficient instructions. They might be so confusing that you install the seat wrong, which leads to serious child injuries.
Some car seats get recalled when manufacturers realize there are flaws. Stop using a seat immediately if the manufacturer recalls it.
What to Do if a Seat Fails
You should immediately get your child to the hospital for a doctor to look at injuries. Very young children are difficult to diagnose when they can’t speak.
We also recommend hanging onto the seat, even if it broke into several pieces. We can work with experts to identify the actual design or manufacturing flaw, which bolsters a claim. If you throw the seat into the trash, then it’s much harder to bring one of these claims. We would have to rely on only your testimony that the seat failed. It’s much better to have the actual seat your child was in.
Also try to hold onto all product packaging, including instructions. You can base a product liability claim on inadequate instructions for installation or insufficient safety warnings.
Is the Manufacturer Liable for Your Child’s Injuries?
They could be. Suppose a dangerous driver runs a red light and T-bones you. The dangerous driver is obviously at fault because they should have stopped at a red light. They crashed and caused a direct impact, so they have liability and will probably need to pay compensation.
But if the booster or safety seat fails, then the manufacturer might share liability. That means you could seek compensation from both the driver and the manufacturer for your child’s injuries.
Iowa’s product liability law is friendly to consumers. The law empowers you to sue many different defendants:
- Manufacturer
- Designer
- Assembler
- Distributor
- Seller
- Others
Suing any of these defendants has advantages. They usually have larger insurance policies than the typical driver in Iowa, so there is a greater chance you are made whole with reasonable compensation.
Protect the Public by Standing Up for Your Rights
Bringing a product liability claim is one way to improve public safety. Car seat manufacturers have few incentives to get dangerous products off the market. Even if they suspect a product is defective, some manufacturers wait to issue a recall until someone gets hurt. A lawsuit for damages is one way to light a fire under manufacturers and improve the quality of their goods.
Give our Des Moines personal injury attorneys a call. We can meet to go over the accident and what happened. We can also represent any adult who was injured in the crash.
Child injury claims present unique complications, and you need a lawyer with the right mix of experience in personal injury law. We can negotiate for fair compensation with any defendant, whether a careless driver or even a booster seat manufacturer. Our consultations are free and without any risk to you. We are available to contact 24/7.