Kids get injured. Very few children reach adulthood without suffering broken bones, burns, or dog bites. Most of these injuries are unavoidable, and parents must simply live with the child’s risk of injury. However, drivers can reduce the risk and severity of car accident injuries by restraining children in compliance with Georgia child car seat laws.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 38% of children killed in vehicle accidents in 2020 were not restrained. After a crash caused by someone else’s negligence in Lawrenceville, GA, an experienced car accident lawyer from Lawson Personal Injury Attorneys can help you pursue compensation for your child’s injury.
Call us today at 678-446-3655 to set up a free initial consultation.
How Lawson Personal Injury Attorneys Can Help After a Car Accident in Lawrenceville, GA
Lawson Personal Injury Attorneys was founded in 2012 to represent injured victims in Lawrenceville, Georgia, in their pursuit of fair compensation. Our Lawrenceville car accident lawyer has recovered millions of dollars for the firm’s clients.
If you suffer an injury due to someone else’s negligent or otherwise wrongful conduct, we will provide the following:
- A free consultation with an experienced injury lawyer to review your case
- An aggressive negotiation strategy to resolve your insurance claim fairly
- A seasoned litigator to take your case to court if the insurer refuses to settle
A car accident can endanger your child’s physical and financial health. Contact our Lawrenceville personal injury lawyer to discuss how we can help you and your child pursue compensation from those responsible for causing your child’s injuries.
How Many Children Suffer Injuries in Georgia Car Crashes?
Georgia’s Department of Transportation (GDOT) releases detailed vehicle crash statistics on its Crash Data Portal. By submitting a query through the crash portal, you will find that 43,426 children under ten were involved in motor vehicle accidents in 2022.
Among those children for whom the data portal has restraint data, just over 60% of these child passengers were properly restrained. The remaining 40% were either unrestrained or improperly restrained.
Some data points you can see on the dashboard when you limit the search to crashes involving passengers under ten years old include the following:
- 38,157 Georgia traffic accidents occurred with young children as passengers
- 144 crashes happened in Lawrenceville with passengers under ten
- Lawrenceville accidents included seven fatal crashes, but no children died in them
Compliance with Georgia child car seat laws was higher in Lawrenceville than in the state as a whole. Among the crashes involving child passengers, over 67% occurred with properly restrained children. However, this compliance level is still very low, considering the effectiveness of child restraints in preventing serious and fatal injuries.
Car Seat Requirements in Georgia
Every state requires child car seats under some circumstances. These laws usually take one of two forms. Some states provide detailed requirements based on the child’s age, height, or weight. For example, a state might specify the ages that require rear-facing car seats and when the child graduates to a front-facing car seat.
Other states, like Georgia, provide only broad requirements and allow parents to decide how to restrain their children. Georgia’s law states that children under eight must be restrained in an appropriate child restraint system approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
There are a few exceptions, such as if the child is over 57 inches tall. Or, the parent might have a written statement from a doctor indicating that the child has a condition that prevents them from being restrained.
Best Practices For Car Seat Use
Since Georgia’s law does not dictate how to select a child car seat, you can look to other sources for guidance. For example, Safe Kids Georgia provides guidelines for parents based on age, weight, and height.
Infants should ride in rear-facing car seats from birth. The child rests on their back with their head pointed toward the front of the vehicle. They include a five-point harness. In this orientation, the seat supports the child’s head and neck in a crash, thus avoiding whiplash. The five-point harness prevents ejection and the injuries that could result, like fractured bones.
They should stay in a rear-facing seat for at least one year. Ideally, they will remain in the seat until they outgrow it according to its specifications.
After they outgrow their rear-facing seat, they can switch to a front-facing seat. This seat still has an integrated seat back and headrest. It also has a five-point harness, and the child sits upright, facing the front of the car. At this point, their neck should be strong enough to hold up their head. The headrest and harness combine to reduce the risk of whiplash.
The final stage happens when your child outgrows the forward-facing seat. If the child is at least four feet nine inches tall, they can switch to a booster seat and the car’s shoulder and lap belt. The booster does not have a seat back. Instead, its role is to lift your child high enough to wear the seat belt across their shoulder instead of their neck.
Schedule a Free Consultation With Our Lawrenceville Car Accident Attorney
Car accident injuries could permanently disable your children from working or even taking care of themselves in the future. Contact Lawson Personal Injury Attorneys for a free consultation to discuss the compensation you can get for your child’s injuries.