A Car Seat Check Could Save Your Child’s Life
By Gregory M. Yaffa, Shareholder, Rafferty Domnick Cunningham & Yaffa
As a trial lawyer who has represented families shattered by car crashes, I’ve seen firsthand how fragile life can be on the road. Parents do everything they can to keep their children safe, but too often, a simple oversight in car seat installation becomes a tragic detail in the aftermath of a collision.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), car crashes remain one of the leading causes of death for children in the United States. What’s more troubling is that nearly half of all car seats are misused or improperly installed. That means millions of parents buckle their kids in every day believing they’re safe, when a loose strap or wrong angle could make all the difference in a crash.
The Risk of “Almost Right”
Most parents aren’t careless. They buy the seats, install them carefully, and buckle their children in with love. The problem is that car seats are complicated. Each model comes with unique instructions depending on the child’s age, height, and weight, as well as the type of vehicle. What looks secure to the eye may, under the force of an accident, fail to protect the child.
The most common errors—loose harness straps, chest clips positioned too low, or seats tilted at the wrong angle—may seem minor, but in a crash, they can be catastrophic. “Almost right” isn’t good enough when the safety of a child is on the line.
A Simple, Free Solution
Fortunately, there’s an easy fix. Certified child passenger safety technicians offer free car seat checks across the country. These inspections take only a few minutes. A trained professional can confirm that your child’s seat is properly secured and teach you how to check it yourself moving forward.
The NHTSA provides a directory of inspection stations at hospitals, fire departments, and community centers nationwide. It’s a resource every parent and caregiver should know about. Think of it as preventative medicine: just as you’d never skip a pediatrician visit, don’t skip a car seat check.
Why It Matters More Than Ever
Today’s vehicles are more technologically advanced than ever—airbags, lane-departure warnings, automatic braking. Yet none of those features replace the first and most important line of defense: the car seat.
Children are uniquely vulnerable in crashes. Their developing bones and smaller frames mean that adult seat belts don’t provide adequate protection. That’s why the law requires car seats and booster seats—and why those seats must be installed and used correctly.
As a lawyer, I can tell you that failing to do so not only jeopardizes a child’s safety but can also complicate matters in court. If an injury occurs and it’s shown that a seat was improperly installed, the questions of liability and negligence become more difficult. No parent should have to face that on top of the heartbreak of a seriously injured child.
Protecting Children, Protecting Families
At Rafferty Domnick Cunningham & Yaffa, our work is built on advocating for people who never expected to need a lawyer. Many of the cases we take involve moments where a family did everything right—and yet someone else’s negligence changed their lives. What I want parents to know is this: when it comes to car seats, you have the power to reduce risk dramatically with one simple step.
A car seat inspection is not just about compliance with the law. It’s about peace of mind. It’s about knowing that, should the unthinkable happen, you have given your child the best possible protection.
A Call to Parents and Caregivers
My plea is simple: schedule a car seat check. Make it part of your routine just like doctor’s appointments, school supply shopping, or flu shots. Encourage grandparents, babysitters, and anyone else who drives your child to do the same. Share the information with your community.
We cannot control every danger on the road. But we can control how securely our children ride in the back seat. That control is a gift worth seizing. And it is waiting for you at the nearest car seat inspection station.
Gregory M. Yaffa is a Shareholder at Rafferty Domnick Cunningham & Yaffa, a Palm Beach Gardens and Pensacola law firm with a national practice focusing on Medical Malpractice, Catastrophic Injury, and Mass Torts.
