Child Safety Seat Manufacturer Evenflo Recalls 56K Seats Due to Risk of Injury
When you purchase a safety seat for your infant or toddler, you expect that a product defect will not cause harm to your child. However, according to a recent report from ABC 7 News, the child safety seat manufacturer Evenflo is recalling more than 56,000 car seats “because curious children can loosen the internal harness, increasing the risk of injury in a crash.” Even though the product itself might not be defective without a child loosening the harness, Evenflo should have reasonably anticipated that a child in the safety seat might use the product in this manner, and thus a design defect may nonetheless exist.
Which products are affected by the recall? According to the article, all Transitions Three-in-One Combination Booster Seats that were manufactured between December 18, 2014 and January 29, 2016 are implicated in the recall. Given that the recall extends to products made more than two years ago, it is important for parents to check their child safety seats even if they were purchased in used condition—as your product may be subject to the recall.
What is wrong with these booster seats? Based on government documents concerning the recall, “the central front adjuster button that loosens the harness may be within a child’s reach,” and as such, “if the harness doesn’t fit snugly, that increases the chance of injury.” The seats can be used in a variety of ways, and the situation in which there is a risk of injury is when a parent uses the booster seat as a forward-facing harnessed booster.
Evenflo is alerting owners of the car seats to the risk of injury and if you do have one of the recalled seats in your possession, Evenflo will be sending you a repair kit to make the booster seat safe for use.
Learning More About Child Injuries
What are the primary sources of child injury, and what steps can parents take to avoid them? According to a fact sheet from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the following are among the leading causes of child injuries:
- Motor vehicle accidents;
- Suffocation;
- Drowning;
- Poisoning;
- Fire or burns;
- Falls; and
- Recreational activities.
In numerous instances, product defects have led to increased injuries to children in car accidents. Therefore, it is extremely important to pay attention to any and all defects concerning child’s seats. If a defective product caused your child’s injuries, contact an experienced child injury attorney to discuss your rights.
