Child safety seats are key to protecting the health and safety of children when a car accident occurs. When you’re choosing a child safety seat for a child in your care, it’s important to consider the various types of accidents that may occur – not only front-end crashes, but side-impact and rollover accidents at well.
For many years, car seats were testing only in front-end accident conditions, despite the fact that many car accidents involve side impacts or rollover accidents. Together, side-impact and rollover accidents account for over half of the child deaths in car accidents each year. Rollover accidents are particularly dangerous: although only 2.2 percent of U.S. car accidents are rollover accidents each year, they account for 28 percent of the deaths child passengers suffer.
Vehicle design has taken rollover and side-impact risks into account in recent years, and many vehicles have built-in features to reduce the risk of death or serious injuries in these accidents. Seat belts protect many lives in rollover accidents, and side-impact airbags provide an added layer of safety when used with seat belts.
However, these features alone are often inadequate to protect children riding in car seats during a side-impact or rollover accident. Child seats that have winged headrests to contain the child’s head in a side-impact accident and that are structurally designed for side-impact situations can help reduce the risk of injury or death in these types of accidents.
At Hardwick & Pendergast, P.S., our experienced Washington car accident child injury attorneys can help you with every step after a car accident, from investigating the crash to winning the compensation you need. For a free and confidential consultation, call us today at (888) 228-3860.
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