Every day in Lexington and the surrounding areas of Mississippi, parents buckle their children into booster seats and leave home expecting that the safety device will keep their child safe in the event of a serious collision. While it goes without saying that child safety seats are an invaluable piece of protective equipment, a study suggests that many children are not nearly as safe in a booster seat as their parents might expect in the event of a car accident. According to a study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), half of all car booster seats do not provide a proper fit with seatbelts.
While any product that is designed or manufactured with defects or that provides inadequate instructions or warnings to ensure safe use is dangerous, the danger increases exponentially when the product is a piece of vital safety equipment like a child booster seat. Booster seats are designed for children that have become too big for forward facing car seats. This type of child safety device is designed to elevate a child’s body so the adult seatbelt forms a proper fit.
The IIHS study examined twenty million 4 to 8 year olds and the appropriateness of their fit when using the family’s child booster seat. The study revealed that of the 83 child booster seats tested, 41 did not fit properly with the vehicle seat and seat belt. When there is a poor fit with a child booster seat, the child is not positioned properly to maximize the benefit of a seatbelt in the case of a serious traffic accident. This lack of proper positioning of a child’s body during a collision can result in serious injury.
Four of the booster seats tested in the study provided such a poor fit that the IIHS recommended that the booster seats should not be used at all. When a parent is attempting to determine if a booster seat fits properly, they should check to see that the lower belt sits flat across their child’s upper thigh region. If the child’s body is not positioned properly when restrained by the seatbelt, parts of the child’s body may be injured by impact with the interior of the vehicle in a collision. When the seatbelt is improperly positioned across the abdomen, the seatbelt itself can cause serious injury, including damage to a child’s internal organs.
It is important to emphasize that nothing in this study suggests that booster seats are not a valuable and/or necessary piece of safety equipment that might keep your child safe in an auto accident. If your child is between the ages of 4 and 8, your child is almost fifty percent less likely to be injured in a collision when using a child booster seat. However, you should check the fit of the booster seat to ensure that the seatbelt is properly positioned when your child is buckled up. Parents might also want to check the ratings for their booster seat at the IIHS website to determine whether the brand and model of the booster seat rates well in terms of providing an appropriate fit to keep children safe.
One of the most tragic parts of representing car accident victims of Lexington is that sometimes our clients are the families of children that have been seriously injured. Our Mississippi car accident lawyers at Barrett Law are committed to car accident safety for children and their families. If you or someone you love has been seriously injured in a motor vehicle accident, our compassionate and dedicated team of attorneys is here to answer your questions and help you seek the compensation you need to move past this difficult experience.
If your child is injured when riding as a passenger in a motor vehicle, you are invited to contact the experienced auto accident lawyers at Barrett Law to learn how we can help. Our Mississippi Personal Injury Lawyers at Barrett Law have been representing crash victims throughout Mississippi for over 75 years. We offer personalized legal representation and zealous advocacy. We provide a free initial case evaluation so call us today at (800) 707-9577. No Recovery No Fee!