As parents, we all want what is best for our children. This includes taking measures to ensure their safety. Following a car accident, if your child car seat sustained visible damage, you would obviously want to replace it. But what if there is no visible damage to the child car seat? It is good measure to replace your child car seats, even if they were not occupied by your child. The reason is because car crash forces are extreme. If they are strong enough to bend the steel frame of a car, they are strong enough to damage the structure of the car seat, even if it is invisible to the eye.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommends that child car seats should be replaced following a moderate or severe crash. They do not need to be replaced following a minor crash. The NHTSA defines a minor crash to be any crash where:
1) the vehicle was able to be driven away from the crash site,
2) the vehicle door nearest the child car seat was not damaged,
3) None of the passengers in the vehicle sustained any injuries in the crash,
4) The air bags did not deploy during the crash, and
5) there is no visible damage to the child car seat.
In addition to the recommended outline provided by the NHTSA, California’s Insurance Code Sec. 11580.11 requires insurance companies to replace any child seat if it was occupied during an accident, or if it was unoccupied, but damaged during an accident.
If you had a child car seat that was damaged during a car accident, please be sure to raise this issue to the insurance companies for reimbursement.