Defective Baby Car Seats

Evenflo Company Inc. in conjunction with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced the recall of Evenflo Embrace Infant car seat/carriers because of a malfunctioning handle. Evenflo warned that when used in the carrier mode the handle could without warning release, causing the seat to rotate forward, resulting in the infant falling out. The affected cars seats and carriers have model numbers beginning with 317, 320, 397, 398, 540, 548, 549, 550, 556, 597, 598 or 599. The units, manufactured in the U.S. and China, were sold nationally through department and baby items stores from December 2004 through September 2006, according to a release from NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration).

The statement comes after Evenflo received 679 reports of handles unpredictably releasing. The recall involves approximately 450,000 Evenflo Embrace Infant car seat/carriers made before April 8, 2006. Evenflo reported 160 injuries to children including a skull fracture, two concussions, cuts, scrapes and bruises. Evenflo will start sending out a notice to all registered owners of the car seats and carriers and will send a free repair kit to strengthen the handle latch, the release said.

Baby car seats are designed to shield and protect our children from injuries in a car accident. Baby car seat problems continually involve defective handles, sudden releases, weak construction, unanticipated rotation and others. More than 500 injuries to infants have arisen since 1998 on recalled car seat models. Millions of baby car seats that were sold since 2001 have been recalled by their manufacturers because of design flaws, including weak shells, flammable materials, base/shell separation, and defective harness systems.

From March of 1998 until May of 2001, four major manufacturers of child safety seats announced five recalls involving nearly 10 million car seats. In addition to the baby car seat recall, many other baby car seats for infants are believed to have safety issues. Often problems are identified months or even years before a formal recall is launched. Injuries to children due to defective baby car seats include: bruises, concussions, skull fractures, broken legs and scratches.

If your child has been injured by a defective baby car seat you may be entitled to compensation, please fill out the form at the right for a free case evaluation by our Law Firm. Call us day or night at 800-862-1260.

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