Graco Children’s Products has added more than 403,000 child seats to last month’s recall of 3.8 million to replace faulty harness buckles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced that the red release button in the center of the harness can become difficult to release and become stuck. The concern is that the stuck latch can make it difficult or impossible to remove the child quickly in an emergency. Graco said it found that “the food and dried liquids can make some harness buckles progressively more difficult to open over time or become stuck in the latched position.” In some cases parents have had to cut the harness to get their children out. Abraham Watkins has experience in handling cases involving faulty car seats and buckles.
Graco Child Seat Recalls
In a statement, Graco said the recall affects “harness buckles used on all toddler convertible car seats and harness booster seats manufactured from 2009 to July 2013.” The NHTSA is still investigating Graco’s seven remaining car seat models to determine if they should be recalled as well. Graco is resisting adding infant seats to the recall because they are used differently than the toddler seats and because in an emergency an adult can remove the whole seat from the car rather than unlatch the buckle.
However the NHTSA encourages parents and caregivers to consider acquiring an alternative car seat for transporting children until their Graco seat is fixed. The recall now at 4.2 million is the fourth largest child seat recall in American history. If the infant seats are added to the recall, it would be the largest recall.
Benny Agosto, Jr. is a partner at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner in Houston, Texas. For over 65 years, Abraham Watkins has successfully represented injured people and families who fall victim to catastrophes. Our attorneys have the knowledge, experience and resources necessary to obtain just compensation their clients. For more information, please contact the office of Benny Agosto, Jr. at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner, by letter at 800 Commerce Street, Houston, Texas 77002, or by phone at (713) 222-7211.