Car Seat Installation Demystified With LATCH System

At Schmidt Kramer Injury Lawyers, our Harrisburg personal injury attorneys regularly work with adults and children who have been seriously injured in a auto accidents. We feel strongly that children should be restrained in a federally approved child safety seat every time they get into the car. Car seats protect infants and children from serious car accident injuries.

Unfortunately, proper car seat installation can be difficult and confusing. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), thousands of children are injured or killed every year because they are not properly secured in their child safety seat. The Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) restraint system was developed to help people install a car seat easily and correctly.

Most cars and all car seats manufactured after 2002 come equipped with the LATCH system. Vehicles equipped with LATCH have at least two sets of lower anchors located in the back seat where the seat bottom and back meet. Child safety seats equipped with LATCH have a lower set of fasteners that clip to the anchors in the vehicle to hold the seat in place. Most forward-facing child safety seats also have a top strap, or tether. The tether attaches to another anchor in the vehicle—often located on the parcel shelf behind the seat.

Parents should carefully read the car seat installation instructions as well as the LATCH information in their vehicle owner’s manual. A correctly installed child safety seat should not move more than an inch sideways or forward.

In order to protect children from serious injury in the event of a car crash, children should ride in a properly installed child safety seat appropriate for their age, height and weight. If you or a loved one has been seriously injured in a car accident and need legal assistance, we can help. Contact a Harrisburg car accident lawyer at our firm at (717) 888-8888 for a free consultation. You can also download a free copy of our book Who Pays the Bills When You Are Injured in an Automobile Accident? for more information.

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