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If Your Child has Been Hurt in a Car Accident, Don’t Delay, Call Our Law Office Today

You have probably seen the car crash dummy videos. You know, the ones that simulate how a real person is likely to be thrown around the inside of a vehicle during a car crash. The replicated car wrecks are created for automakers and consumers to get the real scoop on how well their vehicles might react if it is involved in a real accident. More about Car Accident Lawyer San Antonio here
It helps potential car owners to evaluate how well a car’s safety features will respond to possibly save their lives. And it helps automakers know where they can improve their products and increase their sales compared to the competition. Depending on the speed of the vehicles on impact, those crash dummies are exposed to a lot of potential physical injury. Those are big dummies! What about the little children? Because children have less body mass they are more likely to sustain serious injuries if they are involved in a car accident. If you are the parent or guardian of an injured child in a car accident, it’s up to you to seek justice and compensation for that child. Call the personal injury attorneys at our Law Office today to discuss your child’s injuries.

Regardless of who is to blame for an injured child in a car accident, the use of child safety seats and other approved restraints provide greater protection in a crash than safety belts alone. According to The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), child restraints decreased fatal injuries of infants younger than a year old by 58-71 percent and for toddlers, it decreased injuries by 54-59 percent compared to those who are not restrained. That means more than three hundred (300) children younger than 5-years-old were saved from sure death because they were restrained when the car they were riding in was involved in a collision.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) revised its suggestions about the safest way to transport children in passenger vehicles. Anyone who has a child riding in their vehicle should adhere to the following instructions:

Phase 1 – Infants from birth to thirty-five (35) pounds should be placed in a safety seat that is rear-facing and properly attached to the car’s back seat.
Phase 2 – After a child outgrows their rear-facing safety seat, which usually is when the child turns 3, the child can be placed in a safety seat that is forward-facing, but still in the back seat, until the child weighs no more than eighty (80) pounds and/or is at least 4-years-old. Remember to NEVER turn a child forward-facing before 12 months old AND 20-22 pounds.
Phase 3 – After age 4 and at least forty (40) pounds, children are allowed to ride in a booster seat with the car’s lap and shoulder belt used to secure them. Once the child is tall enough for the safety belt to secure them properly, usually when the child is 4’9″ tall, the booster seat no longer is needed.
Phase 4 – Once a child outgrows the booster seat, usually when he or she reaches 4’9″ and around 100 pounds, the adult safety belt should fit them properly. The lap belt fits low over the hips and at the top of the thighs. The shoulder belt fits across the center of the chest.
If you are unsure how to properly attach the child seat to the car’s seat, your local fire department personnel should be able to assist you with it. Or if you are leaving the hospital with an infant, medical professionals will instruct you on the proper use before you leave with your new family member.

The above regulations are national requirements. Additionally, in the state of Texas, a child who is less than 4’9″ tall is required to ride in a booster seat until he or she reaches 8 years old. And while the vehicle is in motion, anybody who is less than 17 years old is required to have their seatbelts buckled. If a law enforcement officer observes children riding unrestrained, the driver will be ticketed.

These national laws were implemented to save the lives of our youngest and most vulnerable citizens. Anyone who has children riding in their vehicles is required to have an age-appropriate safety seat in use. The use of safety seats has drastically cut back the number of injuries and deaths. More than 250,000 children suffered from injuries sustained in car accidents ln one year alone. Approximately 2,000 of those children perished from their injuries. Don’t let your child become a statistic. Use proper age-appropriate restrains. If your restraints don’t prevent your child from being injured, or despite using proper restraints another driver is to blame for an injured child in a car accident, you have a parental obligation to seek justice for your child