Chicco, USA has recalled the bases to approximately 18,000 of their infant rear-facing car seats.
Here are the details found on the Office of Defects Investigations website:
If you have a car seat that may be affected by this recall:
Seat belts can save your life if they work. 90,000 2008 Toyota Highlanders and Toyota Highlander hybrids are being recalled due to the fact that the seat belts' locking mechanisms failing.
The locking mechanism on the seat belts apparently cannot secure properly when certain rear-facing child safety seats are used, which could cause the child seats to move, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported on Friday. Read More
If you have been affected by a seat belt failure or any other mechanism defect, please report it the NHTSA. If our law firm can be of any assistance please do not hesitate to contact us.
Our children and their safety is something about which we care deeply. That is why our law firm involves itself in various types of litigation involving child safety. Awhile back we were touched by a video we saw on youtube about a young boy, Kyle David Miller (see here). He unfortunately was killed in a car crash. He was not in a five point harness, but rather a booster seat which utilized the car's seat belt. When we personally saw the video, our family was driven to find a booster seat for our children that had a five point harness. We realized that the booster seat we were using, which used our car's seat belt, was not securing our children the way they needed. We have since learned that there has been a foundation set up in memory of Kyle which collects money in order to buy 5 point harness seats for children up to 80 lbs. who otherwise would not have access to them. Check out the video and website to learn more about the foundation.
Evenflo has announced a recall of over 1 million car seats. Please ensure your child's car seat is not affected.
Recall Number: 08C002000 Summary: EVENFLO IS RECALLING 1,000,000 MODELS 390, 391, 534, AND 552 DISCOVERY CAR SEATS OR ASSOCIATED TRAVEL SYSTEMS MANUFACTURED FROM APRIL 2005 THROUGH JANUARY 2008. IN RECENT LABORATORY TESTS CONDUCTED BY EVENFLO AND NHTSA TO EVALUATE THE PERFORMANCE OF THESE SEATS IN HIGH IMPACT SIDE COLLISIONS, IT WAS REVEALED THAT THE CAR SEAT COULD POTENTIALLY BECOME SEPARATED FROM ITS BASE UNDER THESE CONDITIONS. Consequence: SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH COULD RESULT IF THE CAR SEAT BECAME SEPARATED FROM ITS BASE. Remedy: EVENFLO WILL NOTIFY REGISTERED OWNERS AND PROVIDE A FREE SUPPLEMENTAL DUAL-HOOK FASTENER TO ENSURE THAT THE CAR SEAT REMAINS ATTACHED TO ITS BASE IN A HIGH IMPACT SIDE COLLISION SIMILAR TO THOSE IN THE RECENT TESTS. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING FEBRUARY 2008. TO OBTAIN THE FREE FASTENER, OWNERS SHOULD CALL EVENFLO AT 1-800-356-2229 BETWEEN 8 AM AND 5 PM EST OR ORDER ONLINE AT THEIR WEBSITE AT WWW.EVENFLO.COM/DISCOVERY. Notes: EVENFLO HAS NOT MADE A DECISION THAT THESE UNITS CONTAIN A SAFETY RELATED DEFECT, HOWEVER EVENFLO WILL PROVIDE A FREE SUPPLEMENTAL DUAL-HOOK FASTENER. CUSTOMERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV.
I came across a new site that discusses common mistakes made with car seats...With such an important child safety issue, we felt it important to post some of the information here.
Most parents understand the importance of putting their children in car seats, especially their younger kids, but reports still show that 80% of kids aren't secured correctly in a car seat.
Among the easiest mistakes to avoid is to just make sure that your child is in the correct car seat for his age and that he is facing the right direction.
- Infants should be in a rear facing infant only seat or convertible seat until they are 1 year old AND twenty pounds. Children who reach twenty pounds before their first birthday still need to face backwards and can be moved into a rear facing convertible seat. Smaller infants who don't reach 20 pounds until after their first birthday should also continue to face backwards. This is more a minimum though. Many people advocate continuing to sit toddlers rear facing in a convertible seat until they outgrow it for added safety.
- After they are twenty pounds and have passed their first birthday, toddlers can use a forward facing car seat (either a convertible, combination or forward facing seat) until they are about 40 pounds.
- Children over forty pounds should be placed into a belt positioning booster seat (either a combination seat or booster seat) and they will usually stay in it until they are at least 8 years old.
- You should not use your car's regular seat belts until they fit correctly when your child is about 80 pounds and is 4ft 9 inches tall. Remember that your child will not be ready to use regular seat belts until the shoulder strap fits across his shoulder and not his neck, and the lap belt fits across his hips and not his stomach.
- All children under 12 years of age should be placed in the back seat of the car, especially if you have passenger side air bags.
Read the entire article here.
While car seat litigation is on the rise for those car seats that do fail to keep children safe during accidents, it is important as parents that we take the time to learn which car seat is the right fit for our child as well as the proper way to secure them.
Recently, I overheard a conversation which reminded me about the importance of this question of car seat versus a booster seat. As I waited for my daughter during one of her after school activities I heard a group of mothers and fathers discussing the fact that they were switching their children to the booster seats that use the car's seat belt rather than a five point harness. They were discussing that this was a change they needed to make because when they pick their children up from school through the car pool lane, it is too difficult to find a place to park the car, get out and buckle their children into their five point harnessed car seats.
(The car pool lane is utilized by most preschools and schools where we live. Basically, the parents line up in their vehicles, and the children are called up as their parent's vehicle approaches. The child gets in and the parent drives off). They were talking about how much easier it is now that their children can get in and buckle themselves. We had thought the same thing, putting our daughter in one of those boosters, until we learned about the number of children who are either injured or die in crashes because they slipped out of their booster seat/seat belt because, those lap/shoulder belts in the cars (the ones used in conjunction with the booster seats) are made for people with a minimum weight of 80-100lbs. We switched back to a booster seat with a five point harness. We just taught our daughter how to buckle herself into her harness. So we can go through the car pool lane with no issue. It truly is a huge safety issue that parents should be aware of before switching car seats. The following video is just another reminder:
Car seat installation can seem daunting. If you are unsure about the installation of your child's car seat, please have it inspected...better safe than sorry. Click here for a link to find an inspection station near you.
With 70,000 students riding school buses on 2,100 routes in Wake County, there are bound to be mishaps.But the parents of one local kindergartener said even one accident was too many when their son’s first bus ride landed him in the emergency room. Read More
First off, it is extremely unnerving that this child's stop was missed not once but twice in the same day, even after his parents brought it to the attention of the school. But moreover, it makes one wonder about the safety of the students on the bus. As we here at the firm, are constantly evaluating car seats, safety belts, crashworthiness of automobiles, and more, a story like this makes us wonder about the safety of the children on those buses. It appears this little boy stood up when he noticed the driver missing his stop, and therefore fell, causing an injury to his head. As we have learned through many cases, what may appear as a slight contusion to the head at first sometimes is just the beginning. Should there be seat belts or something on the buses to help keep children from standing and consequently falling while on the bus? Something to think about....
Ever wondered if you have installed your child's car seat correctly? This site provides many details and graphics that may be useful when installing a car seat. It also has many safety tips, general usage information, and things to remember. A couple of important notes, make sure that the seat belt is securely around your child, not twisted, or loose, or too high and certainly not under his or her arm. In addition, if your car seat is involved in a car accident, you should not reuse it.
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