Car Seat Recalls May Put Your Child at Risk in Crash

 Posted on December 00,0000 in Car Accidents

As consumers, there are certain products that we purchase where we put our trust in the manufacturer that the product will protect our loved ones the way it is supposed to. One of the most important products that parents purchase is car seats. We purchase the car seat for the purpose of protecting our most precious cargo – our children – in the event of a vehicle crash. However, over the past few months, several car seat manufacturers have announced recalls of their products due to defects that could cause potential malfunction of the product in a crash.

In July, Recaro Child Safety, L.L.C. announced they were recalling almost 174,000 car seats. Make and models of seats being recalled include ProRIDE model number 332.01 (all colors) which were made between April 2010 through June 2015. The company is also recalling Performance RIDE model number 333.01 (all colors) which were made between January 2013 through June 2015. According to statements released by the company, the top tether anchorage may detach from the car seat shell in an accident. Recaro is providing a retrofit kit which will repair the dangerous issue, free of charge.

Britax Child Safety, Inc. announced their own car seat recall in August due to a defect in the harness adjuster button of certain seat models. Three models, Advocate ClickTight, Boulevard ClickTight, and Marathon ClickTight which were made between August 2014 and July 2015, have all been found to have the defect. According to the company, the release button in the harness may actually stay in the release position, even after the consumer has tightened the harness, again leaving the child at risk in the event of an accident. The company is also providing a kit to repair the defect, free of charge.

Not only is it important for consumers to use car seats which are safe, it is also imperative that the seats are installed properly in order to keep children safe. Each type of car seat – infant seats, rear-facing convertible seats, front-facing convertible seats, and booster seats – all have different styles and different modes of installation. Safercar.gov provides video instructions for each of these seats on its website, which can be found under the sources list in this article.

If you or your family have been injured in a car crash caused by someone else, contact a Lake County injury attorney today to find out what legal recourse you may have.

Sources:

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchResults?refurl=email&searchType=ID&targetCategory=R&searchCriteria.nhtsa_ids=14C005

https://us.britax.com/service-support/recall-sites/click-tight-remedy-kit-registration

http://www.safercar.gov/parents/CarSeats/How-To-Install-Car-Seats.htm