Car Seat Question

I would contact the local fire department since they help install seats properly they probably know the answer.

I would call one of those hotlines that you call to set up an appointment to install a carseat. They are trained to know that sort of thing. I know there is one through St. Luke's on the Plaza.

I have been told that if you are in an accident, regardless if your children were in the car or not, that the car seats could have been damaged. But, before you go and spend the money on a new seat and base, call your local fire or police department, they have people who are certified to look for damage and can tell you if your car seats are still okay to use or if you need new ones, and the best part is that it is free of charge! I have had my fire department install all of my car seats and have them check the installation about once a year to make sure that they have not come loose or have anything wrong with them. Hopefully this helps.

I know the answer to the question! I was in an accident and my insurance company actually paid for a new car seat for me because they said they are not safe to use after that. I have State Farm, not sure who you have but you should check into that!

I think most people covered this but yes replace them. Yes your insurance covers it. All insurance companies will cover car seats because car seats are required by law which makes them a damaged part of your car. Booster seats that were not secured to the car at the time of impact and did not impact any part of the car are not damaged. Any car seat that is secured to the car at the time of impact can potentially be damaged by the force of impact. Either way they are covered by your insurance so be safe and just replace all of them.

If an insurance company is involved,the car seats need to be part of the claim if they aren't already. Yes, they should be replaced.

Hi R.! I was in a car seat a while back, and the air bag deployed etc... Thankfully my children were not in the car at the time either! The car seat base is probably fine b/c it is strapped in right? The insurance company told me to replace both the car seats immediately buy my car seats were a belt in toddler seat, and a high back booster seat. The booster seat was a huge concern b/c since my daughter wasn't in it, it wasn't buckled in-just sitting in the back seat and when I had the accident the booster seat flew forward, and landed between the roof of the car and the front seat. I know you will probably get a ton of replies to this but I just wanted to share my experience. Once the seats have been in an accident most insurance companies will tell you to replace them right away b/c they aren't structurally safe anymore. I hope you are OK!! And good luck with your car/van.
H. B

I would replace the carseat booster base and the booster. There have been instances of hairline cracks that canot be seen causing injury to children if another accident occurs. Your insurance company should pay for this. We had a similar situation and the company reimbursed us for the cost of a new carseat. A trusted mechanic or body shop would be able to tell you what needs to be replaced on your vehicle. It may depend if there is frame damage.
Good luck. Glad everyone is alright.

I was in a car accident back in Jan. I was rear ended and then pushed into the car in front of me. Back then I heard conflicting info about replacing the carseat. Luckily my daughter was not in the car with me when I was hit. When it came down to it though we replaced it. I figured an extra $150 is worth my peace of mind knowing there is no damage to her carseat. I would replace them if I were you. Better to be safe than sorry!

I was in an accident a couple of years ago, same as yours, chain reaction, with me being the last car. You should replace your carseats whenever you are in any kind of accident, with or without children present, for fear that somethign internal may have come loose on impact.

My insurance company reimbursed me for hte cost of new seats when I provided the receipts, it was just part of the claim, and I had to get rid of the old car seats at an All State office so that they knew I hadn't reused or sold them or something, I guess.

Hope this helps!!

Better safe than sorry. I would replace the entire car seat, base and all. It is a good idea to check to see if the insurance will cover it.

R.,
I'm going to attempt to answer this for you only because my husband is in the car collision repair business. You need not replace any child seats for the sheer fact you stated...they were not in the seats. The weight of the child in the seat during impact is what alters the protection the seat provides, and since the seat (without the child) was not compromised (from not being damaged directly) your children are safe in these car seats still! Be safe, and God Bless.

I would check with your local police station or health department. They will know what is best.

Best Wishes,

J. H.

If there were no children in the seats then I would say no. I believe the replacement is based on the weight jerk during a wreck but there wasn't one. But if you ever give or sell those seats then it is only fair to tell the next person that they were involved so they can make their own decision.

Good luck,
D.

Replace them and like a pp said have the insurance pay for new onesif possible i have been told that the impact of a wreck and loosen things up in the seat so if y ou are in another wreck they may not work and to me it isn't worth the risk carseats can be replaced but our angels can't.

i hope you are felling ok

Car seats can sustain stress fractures when in an accident...I assume even if the child was not riding in it at the time. I checked with my local fire department when I was rear ended to inquire about whether I needed a new car seat or not. You may want to check with your local fire department and/or Safe Kids programs to see if they offer these services.

Hope this helps!

Yes! I have read articals about carseats & they say that even though a child is not in the seat it could have the same invisable stress fractures that a seat would have if the child had been in the accident with you! Even a little fender bender could make the seats unsafe for your child! Please replace the seats! It is better to be safe then sorry!
God Bless!

Hi R.
2.5 years ago my family and I were hit head on by a young lady who had been drinking. There was alot of damage to the front end & driver's side of my gramma's surbuban, the air bags deployed in the front and luckily for me and my 2 children we did not have any injuries. The state highway patrol officer (we are originally from Ohio and this happened in Ohio)told us that we had to get rid of the car seats and buy new ones because even though there was no visible damage to the seats they could still have damage on the inside so for safety's sake we were required to throw them away. The good thing about it though we were able to turn the receipt into my gramma's insurance company ( she was the driver so her insurance was responsible, the other driver did not have insuance)and we were reimbursed for the seats.
So check with your insurance company and see what they say.
Hope all goes well!!

As far as I know, if your carseat was in an accident, any accident, it needs to be replaced. One never knows if, or how much, damage can be caused to the safety-seat integrity by the bumping and jarring. I know that my insurance company covers the carseat replacement, so check with yours. I would also say that it's better to replace it and perhaps not have needed to, rather than not replace it and find out belatedly and badly that the seat needed to be replaced.

Hi Rachel,
I am an Insurance Agent. I have found that anytime a child seat is in a vehicle that had been involved in an accident, it is recommended by our claims dept to replace the seat and we give vouchers so the cost isn't 100% on you. You may want to check with your claims dept to see what their procedure is. I am sure you can include the cost of the seats in the total loss and if the accident was not your fault, make the other person's insurance company pay for it. Ultimately you want to make sure your children are safe and you will never be sure with your old seats seeing as how you can't tell if they will function correctly if an when you really need them. No sense in gambling with your children's life. Good luck!

R.,

You do need to replace the seats, AND, you need to replace the seat belts that were holding those seats in place during the crash(your seat belt, too). As with car seats, seat belts are good for only one time!!! This may be a bit of a "burden" to the body shop & insurance - after my accident I had to fight to replace the seat belts (my car ended up being totaled anyway) It is just not something people think of having to replace!! I do have to say that my insurance replaced the car seats without so much as batting an eye!!

Definiately replace them! For peace of mind, safety, and because if your insurance finds out that you did not replace a seat and then, heaven forbid, you are in another accident, they could deny coverage. Your insurance, or the person's insurance who caused the accident will pay for the seats. You will most likely have to buy them yourselve and then get reimbursed but they will pay. My brother had a similar situation a couple of years ago and his insurance agent was firm that he should get knew seats. I also had a friend recently who was in an accident who had some trouble getting them paid for. I think the adjuster had told her that they wouldn't be paid for or something and then she talked to her agent and got it covered. So talk to your insurance agent and they should be able to help you get them paid for.

I was in a car accident in Feb and the fire dept said because the seats were not load-bearing at the time of the accident, I did not have to replace the seats. So we didn't. If car insurance will pay for it though I would have.

On the question of whether or not they are damaged in any way? Probably not. On the question of whether or not you should replace them, that is a judgement call on your part. I probably would because I would constantly worry whether they were completely safe. There is so much to worry about with our kids these days, why add unneeded stress to my life. Again, though, I think whether to replace them is just up to how you feel.

Of what I understand, yes you should replace them. Contact your insurance company and they will tell you how to go about it, and they will reimburse you.

Hope you feel OK.

Definitely replace the seats. Try to get your insurance company to pay for them.

I had the same question about 6 years ago myself. I will call a hospital and find the correct answer, pretty sure that St. Johns off Ballas and 40 should beable to answer that question. I would think that because they are not in the carset you should be okay. It would be the force your child would put on the carseat straps that would cause you to get rid of it. If your insurance company, or whom ever is at fault will pay for them I would say go ahead and get new, always beter to be safe. I would however if you still have doubts call a local hospital or you might even find a car seat check point, those places that install the seats for you, they would beable to tell you for sure.
Hope you are feeling okay.
Goodluck
N.

Yes, you are supposed to replace them because the plastic can still be damaged and you don't want to find that out in another accident with your childrens lives at stake. Insurance should cover it-either the person that caused the accident or your own.

call your insurance company tell them what happened they may replace both the carseats especially if the car is totaled and airbags deployed i'am now hearing of this being done

Hi R.!Srry to hear about your accident.My Friend was in an accident and she had my Son's carseat in her car.She was told by the officer at the scene it was fine.And also called the insurance company to double check and she said if the child was not in it they do NOT have to replace them.And last my Husband is a firefighter and just so happens to be a liscensed carseat tech and he also says if the child is not in the seat there is no strain put on the seat in an accident.Hope this helps!

Perhaps you could take the car seats to get checked out by a safe-seat specialist (try calling your community's fire/ambulance service to see who does it...chances are someone there does!)--maybe they would know specifically what to look for on the seats. I know I wouldn't want to replace them without being SURE that I had to--of course, if they find something wrong, you'll be better off replacing them. Good luck!

I would call your local fire department and ask for their car seat expert - most fire dept. have an in house expert (they will install your car seats too.) They might have the right answer.

We went through this at Chrismas-time. I searched the websites, carseat manuals, etc. I finally decided that spending a little bit more on the carseats (buying new ones) would give me peace of mind. I mentioned it to the insurance people, and they paid for it. I would definitly ask. In fact, my son was 10 months old and we replaced his infant carrier with a convertible seat, since we had to get a new one anyway. No problem with the insurance. This is exactly why you should never buy a used carseat, because you don't know if it had been in an accident. An accident can mess with the interior design of the seat and it is designed to absorb the impact. My DH is a design engineer and tried to explain it. I say get new seats and sleep peacefully at night!

I hope you were ok and I know that a car accident always reminds you just how precious life it. Blessings to you and your family!

about the carseat I would take it out and check to see if it was damage or broken. If not then it would be okay to use. that is what i have always been told by police officers.

You shouldn't have to replace them because the children weren't in them & that means no weight to adjust them in any sort of way. You should be fine but you might want to contact a local hospital & pose that question to them. Good luck & God Bless!

Yes any time a car seat recieves a large impact it needs replaced. Rather safe then sorry. Glad your ok and good luck.

I have always been told that if you have any sort of accident with your car that you need to replace the carseats that were in the vehicle at the time. My friend had an accident and her insurance paid for new carseats. Better safe than sorry later, right?

I am not sure I would replace them. Although, if your van is fully insured and you are making an insurance claim anyway you could add the carseats to the claim. We have done this in the past.

Should contact your insurance people. My sister in-law was in one like yours and she did not have the kids but had the car seats. The insurance took them and gave money for new ones.. So, I guess that it depends on the State and insurance company you have and the rules are. But I would replace them. You don't want to get in an accident and the seats be bad.

I was in a bad accident a year ago. My airbags didn't deploy due to the brush guard that I have on the front end. My 2 girls were not with me but insurance paid for new carseats. They have been in an accident and can not be used even if the kids were not in them.

Since my baby was coming out of her infant carrier, we just bought a bigger seat that faced backwards and forward. Insurance paid and no questions asked.
I was on my way home to give my little girl her last bath as the next day she was having open heart surgery. I am so glad she was not with me.

I have 2 special needs daughters. What district are you in and where are you located. I have read about music therapy and was wondering about it.
Thanks

First and for more are you ok????? Secondly the car can be replaced third I would definately replace them, there could be a stress fracture and if you are ever in another accident for example the baby seat could loose grip and be let go and go flying through the car, i would definately replace them

Sorry you were in an accident, I am so glad your children weren't with you!

I would replace them. I'd rather be safe than sorry, especially when my baby is involved. I second the other poster. Make sure to include the car seats in your insurance claim... as long as you have full coverage on your vehicle they should be covered.

Some links I found:
http://www.800bucklup.org/parent/replacing%20CSS%20after%...
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/childps/ChildRestr...
http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=9575