The purpose of a car seat is to protect a child during a car accident. If that accident actually happens, the car seat needs replaced afterward. This may confuse some Maryland parents, particularly if the car seat appears undamaged. However, even if the car seat looks okay, the plastic may have weakened during the crash. This is typically not visible and means that the car seat will no longer protect the child from dangers in another car accident.
Exceptions
Car accidents often have a lot of miscellaneous costs associated with them, so the cost of replacing car seats is a major obstacle for some who may then wonder how necessary replacing the car seat really is, especially if the device looks fine. If the car accident is minor, you may be able to keep using the car seat if the manufacturer says it’s okay. However, there are a lot of criteria to count an accident as minor.
A minor car accident meets the following criteria:
- There are no injuries.
- The vehicle is safely driven away from the crash.
- There is no damage to the closest door to the car seat.
- The airbags didn’t go off.
- No part of the car seat is visibly compromised.
If the minor car accident meets every condition on the above list, then it would be worth calling the manufacturer of your car seat to find out if it still needs replacing. Some car seats need discarding in every situation. Your manufacturer will know best.
Will insurance pay?
It is possible that your car insurance may pay to replace your car seats after an accident; in some states, it is the law that they have to. Maryland drivers can try contacting their car insurance companies to see what their policies are on this.
-
Facebook
-
LinkedIn
-
Twitter