Britax Recalls 71,000 Infant Car Seat for Defective Handles

From their cribs, to their clothing and toys, infants and children come into contact with dozens of products each day. As parents, we tend to take for granted that all of these products are safe and that they will perform in the way that the manufacturer promised they would. Most products do perform as advertised, but every now and then, a product will prove to be defective and unsafe to use for your baby or child. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the NHTSA (National Highway Transportation Administration) have issued a recall for 71,000 Britax brand infant car seats because they are defective. The CPSC reports that there have been more than 74 complaints about the car seat handles breaking while they are in use. Parents place the infant into the car seat and carry it by the handle from the house to the car and from the car to wherever they are going. When the handle breaks, the infant seat can fall to the ground with the baby in it. In some instances, when the handle broke and the car seat fell to the ground, the infant suffered a head injury when their head struck the ground.

The recall notice, which was published on January 21, 2016, reports that the seat carry handle can crack and break allowing the seat to fall unexpectedly, posing a risk of injury to the infant. The CPSC advises that parents should stop carrying the seat by the handle until the repair is installed. Consumers who have registered their product with Britax will receive the free handle repair kit in the mail automatically. The car seat is still safe to use in the vehicle or on a stroller.

The models that are under recall include:

• Britax B-Safe 35
• Britax B-Safe 35 Elite
• Britax B-Safe 35 Travel System

The Britax website has a list of all of the model numbers of products included in the recall.

If you would like to be informed whenever a car seat recall is announced, you may sign up at SaferCar.gov. You will be informed about which model numbers and manufacture dates are involved in the recall. You will also get information that will allow you to call the manufacturer to get whatever additional information you might need.

Product manufacturers have a duty under the law to make sure that the products they sell are safe for consumer use and will not pose a danger to the consumer. As soon as they discover that one of their products has a defect as in the case of the defective handle on the Britax infant seats, they are obligated to warn customers of the danger and stop selling the defective product. In the case of the defective car seats, the handles can be repaired without the need to return the product to the manufacturer. When a child suffers an injury because of a defective product as was the case when an infant suffered a head injury when the handle broke and they tumbled to the ground, the child’s parent may be able to file a products liability lawsuit against the manufacturer in order to recover financial damages for their child’s injuries.

If your child has been injured due to a defective product, please contact McGowan, Hood, Felder & Phillips, LLC, or call us at 803-327-7800, for a free consultation with a skilled South Carolina products liability attorney.