Safety on the road usually entails seatbelts for adults, but what about toddlers? Many parents worry about rear facing car seats because of the reaction of their child.
Infants often cry which leads to a frustrated car ride. If you’re like a lot of parents, you’re counting down the days until you can put your child in a regular forward-facing car seat. You could be thinking that turning your child around so that they can see you and forward may be what they need to be calm, quiet and peaceful in the car.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents wait to turn the car seat to forward facing “because children are safest riding rear-facing seats until they are two years old.” Research has shown that children up to 23 months old are about 75 percent less likely to die or sustain serious injury in a rear-facing seat than a forward-facing one.
The rear-facing car seat is better at spreading the force of the crash more evenly across a child’s body and the back of the car seat. The rear-facing seat also limits the motion of a child’s head in a crash, reducing the chances of a neck injury.
Car accidents aren’t a pretty picture for anyone, but when a child is involved, it is even scarier. If someone is injured because of the negligence of another driver, then you have rights under the law. You want to make sure to protect those rights after a car accident, so you don’t end up paying for someone’s careless driving behavior. In some cases, you should sue after a car accident.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1,149 children died in motor vehicle accidents in 2013 with another 172,000 being injured that year. No amount of compensation will ease your child’s suffering after an accident nor will it ease your frustration and grief. Holding the at-fault driver responsible for his or her actions and ensuring your child is compensated for his or her injuries is one way to gain some level of justice when your child has been hurt.
If you’re hurt in an accident, or if your child is injured, contact Douglas McGinity. He will fight for you and your loved ones to help you recover after an injury.