Most people know that car seats help to keep young children safe when they’re in a vehicle. Being buckled in securely can mean the difference between walking away from the crash or suffering catastrophic injuries.
If you’re involved in a crash with your child in the vehicle, you may wonder if you need to replace the car seat. Whether your child was in the vehicle or not, you need to replace the car seat if the crash wasn’t considered minor.
Points required for a minor crash
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has a list of five points that must be met in order for a crash to be considered minor. If all of these are true, you likely don’t need to replace the car seat.
- The car seat isn’t visibly damaged
- No damage is present on the door closest to the car seat
- Nobody in your vehicle was hurt
- Airbags didn’t deploy in the crash
- You drove the vehicle away from the crash
Some parents may want to replace the car seat even if the crash was minor. Some manufacturers may even recommend replacing the car seat. You must do what you feel is best for your child because nothing is more important than safety.
Make sure you get yourself and your child medically evaluated to determine if there’s anything wrong. You may seek compensation for the damages you have related to the crash. Ensuring you have an accurate account of all damages, including those you may face in the future, is crucial because you can only seek compensation once. Florida law limits how much time you have to get your case filed so act swiftly.
