Focus: Graco’s unprecedented recall of defective child car seats

Injuries to Children,Our Blog | July 23, 2014

Seeing a picture in an article published earlier this month by the Los Angeles Times that shows a safety inspector checking child safety seats while two infants peer out from behind their safety harnesses is admittedly cute.

It also serves as a stark reminder of the preciousness and fragility of toddlers and the need to ensure that there are no question marks regarding the safety equipment manufactured to protect them.

The global child-products maker Graco knows all about those question marks. Until earlier this month, its executives were embroiled in a long-term spat with federal safety regulators focused upon claims that many of the company’s infant safety seats presented clear personal injury concerns for their tiny occupants.

At the center of contention has been an alleged defective buckle that makes it hard for a child to be freed from his or her seat in an emergency. Graco persistently fought that allegation, but eventually caved in to regulators’ demands that the company take resolute action to remedy the problem. Not doing so, noted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, posed an “unreasonable risk.”

The result: Graco announced a massive recall of select seat models earlier this month that will undoubtedly affect many California parents. In fact, the national recall applies to nearly two million car seats and is being termed as the largest such call back in American history.

Parents and caregivers who have unanswered questions and concerns regarding the recall can obtain relevant information online by checking with the NHTSA website.

And, of course, an experienced Sacramento, CA personal injury attorney can provide prompt, knowledgeable and aggressive assistance in any matter involving defective child seat buckles or any other faulty products that have resulted in personal injuries to family members or other loved ones.

Source: Los Angeles Times, “Graco expands recall to include 1.9 million infant car seats,” Brianna Sacks, July 1, 2014