Defective baby car seats can cause serious injury or death. Child car seats are designed to protect and guard children from injuries during auto accidents. In fact, children under a certain age (age limit varies by state) are required by law to be in a safety seat while in a moving vehicle. Improvements in child car seat safety, design and manufacturing have saved numerous lives. However, there are instances of manufacturing imperfections or use of s substandard materials in the construction process, which can result in serious injury, even death. If a significant number of a certain model of car seat is found to be defective and dangerous, there may even be a car seat recall. For a detailed list of child car seats that have been recalled for safety issues, please visit the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website.

Some of the most common car seat defects include the following:

• weak shells

• defective handles

• flammable materials

• base/shell separation and weak construction

• sudden releases due to defective harnessing systems

• unanticipated rotation