Car accidents are a leading cause of death for children in the U.S., according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Even if you’re doing all the right things to keep your children as safe as possible, you could be doing them wrong putting them at even greater risk. The CDC estimates that 59% of car seats and 20% of booster seats are used incorrectly. When you do not use child restraints or use them improperly, you not only put your child at risk for injury or death, you may be compromising your ability to recover the money you need to pay for your child’s medical bills and more if they are seriously injured.
Children and Drunk Driving Accidents
The CDC gives us some frightening statistics about drunk driving and children. From 2001 to 2010:
- About one in five child passenger deaths involved drunk driving. “Child” meaning kids 14 or younger.
- 65% of the time, it was the driver of the car the child was riding in who was drunk.
- 61% of the kids who were riding with drunk drivers when they were killed were not wearing seat belts.
There is a small kernel of hope in those statistics. While they don’t tell us how many children were riding with drunk parents vs how many were riding with drunk friends, it is clear that we could substantially reduce the number of deaths if we can simply kids to never, ever get in the car with a drunk driver.
Protecting Your Child Legally
If your child is seriously injured in a car accident, there will be expenses. Your child will need medical care and may be disabled for life. To give your child the best medical care and other services, you’re going to need every penny you can get. Of course your hope is that it will never happen, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be prepared.
Learn about the child restraint laws in your state, and learn how to use child restraints properly. In some states, failure to properly restrain your child can cost you some or all of the compensation you need and deserve for their injuries, even if you were not at fault for your accident.
If your child has been injured in a car accident, read more about Choosing the Right Personal Injury Lawyer.