Riding with your car seat reclined increases risk of serious car crash injury or death

Many passengers like to lean their car seat back on long trips so they can catch a nap or stretch their legs or just change position. However, passengers should be aware that in the event of a car crash, reclining their car seat puts them at a greater risk for both serious injury and death.

In April, a federal jury in Texas awarded $1.8 million to the family of a 19-year-old woman who list her life in a car crash when her seat was fully reclined. She was ejected from the vehicle although she was wearing her seat belt.

The jury blamed Hyundai for using a “defective seat reclining system” and for not using available safety technology that would prevent the seats from being reclined at more than a forty five degree angle. Hyundai stated that the vehicle, a 2005 Hyundai Tucson, had a five-star safety rating and that drivers should read the fine print and warning in the owner’s manual.

Five-star safety ratings are determined by tests done with crash test dummies. The dummies are seated in the vehicle in an upright position.

When a car seat is reclined at an angle greater than 45 degrees, the seat belts ride higher up on the body than they are designed to. This can cause the upper strap to lie near the neck and the lower strap to cut across the stomach. In a car crash, the force from the straps can crush the neck and windpipe of the passenger or cause serious internal injuries. The positioning may also allow the crash victim to slide out of the seatbelt. In both cases, the victim is more susceptible to serious injuries such as broken bones, kidney and liver damage and brain injury or spinal cord injury. hese injuries can lead to long term disability, paralysis or even death.

A National Transportation Safety Board (NSTB) report, filed in 1988, listed the dangers of fully reclined seats and recommended the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration determine how far a seat can recline and still maintain a seatbelt's effectiveness. However, there are still no safety regulations that address the issue of seats that recline so far that passengers using them are not safe.

Hyundai claimed that the reclining should only be used when the vehicle is not in motion. It is appealing the Texas jury's decision.

The Brownsville car crash attorneys at Cowen Law Group represent the injured victims of South Texas car accidents. If you have been injured in Laredo, Zapata, Rio Grande Valley, McAllen or San Antonio, we can help. Contact us at 877-385-1282 to schedule a free case evaluation.