Do I Need To Replace My Car Seat After A Car Accident?

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There is so much information out there about car seat safety that you would think you know it all. But that is just not true and I would be willing to bet that the average person doesn’t know that after an accident you need to throw out your car seat. Shocker right? Let me tell you how I learned about this.

In the fall I was visiting family out of town and I was involved in a fender bender. It was scary because it was my first time in a accident and both of my girls were in the car. I was pretty shaken up and all I could think about was my girls. But in the end, it was just a small fender bender and all ended up being okay. Just a little damage on my car and the other persons car.

After I got back into town I called my auto insurance agent to get the claims process started. The insurance representative had a million and one questions to ask me. They all seemed routine but tedious. I was of course, making my to-do lists and folding laundry while she asked me all these questions. Come one, what mom doesn’t multi-task. Haha.

Next question she asked me was if I had any children in carseats in the car at the time of the accident. Both of my girls are still in car seats, so my answer was yes. Suddenly, I was more interested in the conversation. She went on to explain that I would need to get rid of my carseats because there is no way to know if they had been damaged. I had to cut the straps that connect them to the car and throw them away. Wow! Luckily, replacements were full reimbursable through my insurance.

That was a shocker. I consider myself pretty knowledgable about kid and carseat safety, but I had never heard of this. How did I miss this information? I started asking around, no one in my immediate circle had heard of this either. I then started to wonder how many people got into accidents and never knew to get rid of their car seats.

Spread the word! Get rid of your car seats if you’re in a accident! When it comes to our children’s safety, it is always better to be safe than sorry!!

25 Comments

  1. g1nge

    April 9, 2016 at 10:01 pm

    I had also heard this and also wondered about my car seats when I was rear ended. The damage to the vehicles was really minor, tho it was IMO a hard hit. I asked the maker of the car seat (Britax), and the lady asked if the airbags had imploded. Since they hadn’t, she said the car seats were most likely fine. I had also heard that the manufacturer will replace them for free, but that was false. You can only get reimbursed from your insurance agency.

  2. Bernice

    April 14, 2016 at 5:32 pm

    If you throw out the car seat. How do you your children safe. Plus who is going to pay the fine if the rcmp pull you over and give you a ticket.

    • Jessica

      May 28, 2016 at 9:08 pm

      Your insurance will pay for a new car seat… as part of your coverage. Even if the seat doesn’t look damaged!

  3. Susy Molina

    May 26, 2016 at 2:19 am

    Jorge Sanchez

  4. Sahar Samie Allam

    May 26, 2016 at 2:53 am

    Samie Allam this is scary!

  5. Diana Martínez

    May 26, 2016 at 3:10 am

    Este es el que te decía Manu El Pajaro

  6. Alison Murray

    May 26, 2016 at 3:20 am

    Rebecca Morales

  7. Forthekids

    May 29, 2016 at 12:18 am

    @bernice
    You sound real stupid. No one said that the kids were going to be without careseats…if you read it right it’s saying to replace the careseats after a car accident and your insurance company will reimburse you. Better be safe than sorry Bernice.

  8. Lilys Mom

    May 29, 2016 at 12:50 pm

    Is thus only of your child was in the car seat at the time of the accident? I was involved in an accident, very minor, but thankfully she wasn’t in the car at the time

  9. Abigail Carandang Francisco Lamban

    June 14, 2016 at 1:44 am

    Yes

  10. Meredith Ussher

    June 14, 2016 at 6:40 am

    Sharlene Taylor just what we were talking about today

  11. Maliena Bendezu

    June 14, 2016 at 6:57 am

    Marco Bendezu

  12. Mary Cullen

    June 14, 2016 at 10:03 am

    Ah yes

  13. Laura Keith

    August 11, 2016 at 10:36 pm

    It’s in the instructions. Read people.

  14. Maghan Machel Carr

    August 12, 2016 at 7:13 am

    Lisa Carr

    • Lisa Carr

      August 12, 2016 at 7:28 am

      Scary!!!!!

    • Lisa Carr

      August 12, 2016 at 7:30 am

      I need to get another one for you like mine.

    • Maghan Machel Carr

      August 12, 2016 at 7:30 am

      Lol why are you still awake? Goodnight mommy!

    • Lisa Carr

      August 12, 2016 at 6:04 pm

      Maghan Machel Carr ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

  15. Shelly278

    September 11, 2016 at 2:38 am

    I am kinda stunned that most people never heard of this because as a new mom of last year i did alot of research and i knew about this! Plus as part of the wic program, they informed us as well. Do your research is what I say.:)

  16. Em

    September 22, 2016 at 8:37 pm

    I known about this which is one of the reasons why we bought a $50 evenflo back up car seat for our daughter & it came in handy until the insurance company replaced our graco 4ever after my husband was in a car accident causing him and our car to go over a bridge. When we went to collect what we could from the car the car seat looked fine but we know we couldn’t trust it anymore because you never know if there is a crack that is to small to be seen by the naked eye

  17. Emily

    September 23, 2016 at 1:07 am

    October 27th 2015, I had just pulled into a parking spot at q convenient store, a recycling truck was parked beside me. I shut off my car and went to reach for my door handle. Suddenly my car was being lifted off the two side tires at the drivers side and my entire car was being jerked around. I looked out my window and there was the recycling truck, ON MY CAR! I looked back at my 1 1/2 year old son who was in my back seat and sleeping when I pulled in HE LOOKED HORRIFIED! I asked him if he was okay and he started to cry pointing at the truck. The truck driver turned his wheel to soon and hit the beginning of the backseat door and the more he backed up the more my car lifted. He took out the entire back side of my car as well as shattering a window and cracking my back windshield and got stuck between my back door and my bumper. I got out of my car yelling at the guy to stop but he just kept going. When he realized he was stuck he stopped. Anywho, the insurance company replaced my car seat because my son was in it on impact.

    2 weeks ago my husband and I went to visit family in Toronto, we have an F150 pickup and an Audi hit our truck (we were not in it) $5,000 in damages, she hit our truck so hard she sent it up the curb and I the the lawn it was parked in front of.
    Apparently, if a child is not in the car seat, the car seat does not have to be replaced?! As far as I am concerned, if a vehicle is hit whether a child is in it or not the seats should still be replaced. But maybe I’m just an overly concerned mother for my child’s safety.

  18. KELLI SHOEMAKER

    September 23, 2016 at 11:15 pm

    So your saying basically get rid of the carseat if you have been in an accident or what is it

  19. SY

    September 27, 2016 at 1:11 am

    You are suppose to follow each manufactures guidelines. You can call to find out, read the manual or look online. Insurance may tell you the seat is ok but that’s cause they don’t want to pay if they aren’t made to. Graco even has a letter made up just for that situation (I just went through it). Always check with your manufacturer. There are only a couple brands that say minor accidents are ok. You can also check out car seats for the little’s for more info.

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