What Do We Usually Do Wrong When We Install Car Seats in Our Cars?

Because child safety seats have complicated harness and securing mechanisms, there are actually a number of things we might do incorrectly when attaching a car seat to a vehicle. LATCH-based seats differ from non-LATCH seats. Additionally, the means provided to attach your children’s safety seats vary from vehicle to vehicle. And children in booster seats require different safety considerations than children in car seats. Our Galveston accident lawyers present a list of just a few of the things that might go wrong.

• Using a broken, damaged, defective, recalled, or worn out car seat.
• Using the wrong type of car seat or booster seat for a child’s weight, size, or age.
• Orienting a rear-facing car seat to face forward, or trying to install a forward-facing car seat to face the rear.
• Not following car seat and car manufacturer’s directions about how to properly install the child safety seat in your vehicle.
• Installing the car seat incorrectly in relation to car air bag placement.
• Installing the car seat improperly on the passenger vehicle seat.
• Not tightening the child safety seat straps sufficiently and leaving too much slack in the car seat installation.
• Not fitting vehicle seat belts properly to a child in a booster seat.
• Using locking clips improperly for some passenger vehicle safety belts.

The important thing to know is that you can have your car seat and car seat installation checked for safety, for free, by a certified child passenger safety technician. Watch for NHTSA’s free “seat check” days. As Galveston accident lawyers, we know that a properly installed child safety seat of the proper type for your child’s height, weight, age and size provides one of your best means for keeping your child safe when inside your vehicle.

And if your child should suffer injuries from a Galveston car accident, feel free to call us with your questions. Your initial legal consultation is free, and our Galveston accident lawyers could help you identify the real causes of your child’s injuries. You may be entitled to financial compensation for those injuries from others at fault for causing them. So call today. You have nothing to lose, and your child’s secure future to gain.