My Child Was Injured While Riding in a Child Safety Seat or Booster Seat. What Are My Rights?

No matter how much we do to keep our children safe, we can’t protect them from everything all the time. Among a multitude of injury risks, auto accidents are a leading cause of child injuries—and this is true even when children are properly restrained in a child safety seat or booster seat.

If your child has been injured while riding in a child safety seat or booster seat, you should speak with a lawyer about your family’s legal rights. Not only can injuries from car accidents lead to immediate medical costs, but they can lead to significant long-term costs as well. Your family may be entitled to recover these costs under Pennsylvania law, and doing so could be critical for ensuring that the consequences of the accident are no greater than necessary.

Car Accident Claims Involving Child Safety Seats and Booster Seats in Pennsylvania

In Pennsylvania, any company or individual that is responsible for causing a car accident can be held liable for the accident’s consequences. But, companies and individuals can also be held liable for causing accident-related injuries—even if they did not cause the accident itself. As a result, in cases involving child safety seats and booster seats, parents may be able to file claims including:

• A Claim for Driver Negligence – Most car accidents result from some form of driver negligence. If your child was injured because a driver was negligent, your family is entitled to full compensation for the financial and non-financial costs of your child’s injuries under Pennsylvania law.
• A Claim for a Child Safety Seat or Booster Seat Defect – Unfortunately, some child safety seats and booster seats are defective. If your child’s injuries resulted from a child safety seat or booster seat defect, or if your child’s injuries were worse than they should have been because of a defect, then the manufacturer may be fully responsible.
• A Claim for an Airbag or Seatbelt Defect – Airbag and seatbelt defects are potential factors in child injury cases as well. If your child was harmed by a defective airbag or seatbelt, you may have a claim against the manufacturer in this scenario as well.
• A Claim for Improperly Installing a Child Safety Seat or Improperly Belting a Child – If your child was injured while riding with someone else, your family could have a claim based on failure to properly install a child safety seat or booster seat or based on failure to properly restrain your child. This is true regardless of the cause of the accident.  
• A Claim for Any Other Cause of the Accident or Your Child’s Injuries – From issues with Pennsylvania’s roads to companies hiring unqualified drivers, numerous other factors can cause (or contribute to causing) serious accident-related injuries as well. No matter what happened, if your family has a claim, an experienced lawyer will be able to fight for just compensation on your family’s behalf.

Fundamentally, filing a claim for a child’s injuries sustained in a car accident is no different from filing a claim for injuries you sustained yourself. If a driver is responsible for your child’s injuries, seeking just compensation will most likely involve filing an auto insurance claim (or multiple auto insurance claims), unless the driver was working at the time of the accident.

This means that if you have a claim involving a friend or family member (i.e., a friend or family member who caused an accident, improperly installed a child safety seat or failed to properly restrain your child), your friend or family member won’t have to pay out of pocket directly. Instead, you will be dealing with the insurance companies. Auto insurance is mandatory in Pennsylvania, so your friend or family member should have coverage—and your coverage may apply as well. Additionally, if you have a claim outside of auto insurance (i.e., for a child safety seat or booster seat defect), then you may be able to recover full compensation without filing a liability claim under anyone’s auto insurance policy.

What To Do if Your Child is Injured While Riding in a Child Safety Seat or Booster Seat

To protect your family’s legal rights, if your child was injured while riding in a child safety seat or booster seat, there are some important steps you should try to take promptly. First and foremost, you should make sure your child receives the medical attention he or she needs. No matter what, this should be your first priority.

Next, if you are able to do so, you should keep the child safety seat or booster seat in which your child was riding. If your child was riding in someone else’s car and you don’t have access to the child safety seat or booster seat, that’s okay—but this makes it even more important that you speak with a lawyer as soon as possible. If you have a copy of the police report or any photos or videos from the accident scene, you should be sure to keep these as well.

As you move forward, you will need to work closely with a lawyer throughout the process. Your lawyer will be able to use the available evidence to determine liability and file all appropriate claims on your behalf. Your lawyer will also be able to calculate the long-term costs of your child’s injuries and deal with the insurance companies for you. If necessary, your lawyer can also take your family’s claim (or claims) to court, though this won’t be necessary in most cases.

Schedule a Free Consultation with a Car Accident Lawyer Today

If your child was injured while riding in a child safety seat or booster seat, we can help you, and we strongly encourage you to get in touch. To discuss your family’s legal rights with a car accident lawyer at Drake, Hileman & Davis, P.C