While child safety restraint systems are an invaluable way to protect children in serious motor vehicle accidents, these car seats have long been known to possess a number of manufacturing and design defects that can pose a serious danger to children when an Atlanta car accident occurs. Millions of car seats have been recalled in recent years because of design and manufacturing defects. Despite these recalls, many car seats that are still on the market and can fail during a collision. Instructions and labeling that are inadequate also cause a substantial number of child safety seat failures. If your child has been injured or suffered wrongful death in a Mississippi car accident due to failure of a safety restraint system, you or your child may be entitled to compensation.
A product liability lawsuit based on failure of a defective child safety restraint system is based on crashworthiness principles that were developed seven decades ago. Crashworthiness principles involve the process of reducing the risk of serious injuries through implementation of safety measures. Evaluating safety systems for crashworthiness entails consideration of the following issues:
- Vehicle ejection prevention
- Degree of occupant restraint
- Fire prevention
- Impact on crash energy forces
- Preservation of survival space
Despite the fact that these principles of crashworthiness have existed for decades, vehicle manufacturers continuing to produce and market child restraint systems with known defects that create the risk of injury to children involved in Mississippi car accidents. When a car accident occurs a child’s body impacts both the car seat and the child’s internal organs impact the bone structure of the child’s body.
There are a number of child restraint system defects that may lead to the failure of a car seat in a car accident:
Type of Harness: The most effective safety restraint system is a five-point restraint system. This type of restraint system is similar to that used in a racecar. Many car seats employ only a three-point safety restraint system, which involves straps that come over the shoulders and buckle between the child’s legs. One of the greatest dangers in a motor vehicle accident for all occupants is the risk of vehicle ejection. A three-point system is much more likely to result in a vehicle injection. The chance that a car accident will result in a fatality is almost forty times greater in the event of a vehicle ejection.
Vehicle Base Design: There can be a number of crashworthiness issues involving the base of a car seat. Many child safety restraint systems utilize a snap in base design that is defective and may become detached under the force of a collision.
Head Excursion Issues: The degree of movement permitted to a child’s head can substantially impact the extent of injuries including head, neck and spinal injuries. It is believed that limiting the range of head excursion can reduce the risk of catastrophic brain injuries and severe spinal injuries.
Lack of Instructions/Compatibility: Many times child safety restraint systems have inadequate or confusing installation instructions resulting in the seats being installed incorrectly. A fair number of child safety restraint systems do not fit correctly in specific vehicles. Although many child safety restraint manufacturers know that their car seats do not fit appropriately in certain types of vehicles, the manufacturers have continued to adhere to the defective design.
Lack of Padding: Car seats should have adequate padding particularly in the head area to protect a child from a side impact collision.
These are just a few of the common crashworthiness issues that involve child safety restraint systems. If your child is injured in a Mississippi car accident because of a child safety restraint system that fails, your child can suffer serious injuries or even wrongful death. The experienced Mississippi car accident attorneys at Barrett Law Office PLLC represent car accident victims including children who are injured by defective child safety restraint systems throughout Mississippi. Our roots helping Mississippi car accident victims extend back over 75 years. We offer a free initial case evaluation so contact us today at (662) 834-2376 to see how we can help.