Our children mean the world to us. We’d do anything for them and anything to protect them. So it can be incredibly upsetting to find out that your child was injured in a car wreck, especially if the injury is severe. And it happens far too often
According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 1.6 million children were injured in car wrecks between 2002 and 2011. That’s 160,000 per year on average. In 2015 alone, an estimated 178,000 children were injured in car crashes. In 2016, more than 128,000 children were injured in car crashes. Of the children under 13 who died in 2016 car crashes, 35% of them were not wearing seat belts. You can prevent or lessen the severity of many of these injuries by transporting your child safely and properly.
It’s up to you to make sure that your child is traveling safely and securely in the car. In Oklahoma, the law requires that children younger than 2 years old to ride in a rear-facing car seat of an appropriate size. Those car seats must be placed in the back seat of the car and tightly secured with restraints. The law also requires children between 2 and 4 years old to be in an appropriately sized forward-facing car seat. Children aged 4 to 8 are required to sit in a fitted car seat or booster seat until they are 4 feet, 9 inches tall. Children 8 and up must always be buckled up properly and, though not required by law, should be sitting in the back seat.
You can’t always protect our children, though. Sometimes it’s out of your hands. Regardless of the determined cause, if a negligent driver is responsible for your child’s injury or death, please contact Lloyd & Lloyd for a free evaluation to discuss your legal options. We’ve been helping our clients get the justice and compensation they deserve for over 40 years.