Recall of 31,392 Britax Frontier Child Restraints Highlights Importance of Signing-up for Automatic Updates
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is alerting consumers of a recall involving 31,392 Britax Frontier™ child restraints that could fail to properly secure young passengers in the event of a vehicle crash. Britax is recalling these child seats because the harness straps may detach from the metal yoke on the back of the child restraint if repeatedly loosened one strap at a time. This clearly appears to have potentially fatal consequences. Motor vehicle crashes are the #1 cause of death for children and adults, age groups 1 to 34. But NHTSA officials note that it is harder for those who have not taken advantage of the NHTSA's program of signing-up to receive automatic e-mail alerts when there is a government recall of child restraint safety seats or defective tires to learn about the recall. Meanwhile, they are unintentionally exposing their children to serious risk.Consumers can sign-up for these recall notifications from the federal government by visiting www.safercar.gov and clicking on the “E-mail” or “RSS” option to register. Consumers with questions about this or any other safety recall campaign may call NHTSA’s toll-free Vehicle Safety Hotline 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424-9153). Consumers can also register for a recall on the webpage "http://www.frontierrecall.com/". The Britax website has as its motto,"Safe for a Reason." The affected models include Britax Frontier™ models E9L54E7, E9L54H6, E9L54H7, E9L54M6 manufactured on or before September 14, 2008, and model E9L5490 manufactured on or before September 17, 2008. If the harness straps are repeatedly loosened one strap at a time, then the harness strap(s) may become detached from the metal yoke located on the back of the child seat. The condition can be corrected by inspecting the back of the child seat and reattaching the harness straps. If this condition occurs, the child may not be properly restrained, and in the event of a vehicle crash there could be an increased risk of injury. According to Britax, rubber caps would prevent the straps from detaching, fixing the problem. Britax will mail rubber caps that prevent the straps from detaching to owners of the child seat who registered with the program. The lawyers at Levine & Slavit have decades of experience handling personal injury claims including those involving auto accidents. For over 50 years spanning 3 generations, we have obtained results for satisfied clients. We have offices in Manhattan and Long Island, handling cases in New York City, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and surrounding areas. If you or someone close to you has been injured in a motor vehicle accident, contact the personal injury lawyers at Levine & Slavit for their help. To learn more, watch our videos.
