Graco Recalls Millions of Faulty Car Seats

On the road, young children need to be in their seat — a safe car seat. Recently, Graco Children’s Products, Inc. recalled almost four million car seats because of a faulty buckle. 

The recall stretches across 11 car seat models offered by Graco. According to the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the buckling mechanism is defective, making it difficult or impossible for a child to be removed from the car seat. 

In a letter to Graco, the ODI detailed incidents involving the car seat including: 

• Parents who were unable to remove their child from the car seat through any means other than cutting the harness straps on the seat
• Caregivers who had to completely loosen the harness to squeeze their child out over the defective buckle
• Parents who experienced significant stress trying to remove their child from a car, and in some cases, called emergency responders to free their child 

On its website, Graco reports difficulties with the buckle are caused by spillage of food and liquid into the mechanism. The company also reports no injuries resulted from the defective buckle. A class action lawsuit is pending against the company. Graco also settled a wrongful death lawsuit relating to a two-year old girl trapped in a car fire after a vehicle accident. 

Watch out for younger family members by checking for car seat recalls. Be sure the car seat is properly installed and your child is buckled in properly on each trip. 

The ability to quickly remove a child from a car can be a matter of life and death. If your child is injured by a defective product in New York, talk to an experienced personal injury attorney for advice.