While the risk of being seriously injured in a car accident is high for anyone, that risk is exceptionally high for children. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), motor vehicle accidents are a leading cause of death among children in the United States, killing more than 1,000 children each year. Another 100,000 suffer significant serious injuries. Even more disturbing is that almost 35 percent of children who die in car accidents were not buckled up.

The best way to keep your child safe when riding in a vehicle is to ensure they are properly restrained in the appropriate seat for their height and weight. Virginia has stringent child passenger laws that parents should follow to ensure their children are always protected. The following is a brief overview of these laws. If your child is injured in a crash, call our office to speak with a Virginia Beach car accident lawyer and find out what legal options you may have.

Infant Safety Seats

Virginia law requires all children under the age of two or until they reach the minimum weight limit for a forward-facing safety seat (per the manufacturers’ instructions) to ride in a rear-facing safety seat. This is also recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. Parents should never place a rear-facing safety seat in the front seat of a vehicle with an active passenger airbag. This could be deadly to a baby if the airbag should be deployed for any reason.

Toddler Safety Seats

Once a child has outgrown their rear-facing safety seat, they should ride in a forward-facing seat with a five-point safety harness. The seat should always be in the back seat. When the child has outgrown the forward-facing seat, parents should begin using booster seats until the child is big enough to fit the seat belt in the vehicle. Virginia law says children should be in a booster seat until age 8. The booster seat should also always be in the back seat.

Seat Belt Use for Children

A child can use the vehicle seat belt when they reach about 4’9” tall. The child’s knees should bend over the edge of the backseat cushion, and their feet should rest flat on the floor. Make sure the child is sitting with the back against the seat. To ensure proper fit, the lap belt should lay low and snug across the child’s hips, touching their upper thighs, and the shoulder belt should fit across their chest, midway between the child’s neck and shoulder.

Call Our Personal Injury Law Firm Today

Unfortunately, no matter how much we protect our children, there is always the risk that they will still be injured in a crash caused by another driver. If your child has suffered an injury in an accident caused by another party’s negligence, contact Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp to schedule a free case evaluation with one of our Virginia Beach car accident lawyers and find out how we can help.

Vehicle accident claims involving child victims can be complex, including the statute of limitations for filing a claim, along with other factors. Your child may be entitled to financial compensation for both past and future medical expenses, pain and suffering, emotional anguish, scarring, disfigurement, and any permanent disabilities their injuries may have left them with.

Our firm will work diligently to get your family the compensation you deserve, like the $5.5 million settlement we obtained for one family whose two minor daughters suffered brain injuries when a commercial truck driver rear-ended their car at a red light in Virginia Beach.

For your convenience, we have offices in Virginia Beach, Hampton, Portsmouth, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Suffolk, and Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

 

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