Can a Car Seat Be Used If It Was in an Accident?

It doesn't matter whether or not the kids were in there, the car seats could still be potentially compromised. They would need to be replaced.

No, no, no. The insurance company will pay to replace it. Always better safe than sorry.

If in accident you are suppouse to get new car seats. If you are not at fault the other person's insurance will cover the cost for you to get new seats, may need to mention it at the time of the accident to have document that the car seats were in fact in the car at the time of the accident. If you are at fault you would have to pay out of pocket for new ones.

The reason why they say to get new car seats after an accident is due to they are made from plastic, after a major impact the plastic becomes stressed and weakened. You do not want to put your kids in something that has a great fail rate now due to the plastic being weaker/stressed. Even if you do not see the stress/cracks they are there. If it was a very minor, minor accident it may be ok but if your car shows signs of the accident then I would replace them.

I guess it would depend on how you feel about using them. They say not to use them. My car was rear ended while parked, but it did a lot of damage. I still used my carseats after that, and they were fine. Also I suppose it depends on how bad the accident is.

New ones. You can double check with the manufacturer and even your local police station will have information on car restraint safety, but the general rule is replace them after any accident or impact.

Can you use them yes. depending on the accident it is not a good idea. If you are in an accident depending on te state and the insurer, you can ahve the seats replaced through the insurance company even if a child wasn't in it! You have to just ask. I personally wouldn't use one if it has been in one child in the seat or not but I have been in a major accident with a child in the seat and know personally how important it is! But to each there own!

Two years ago I was rearended by a drunk driver. I had a booster seat in my car but no child was in it. The only damage to my car was indentation marks from the other car's license plate and their bolts on my rear bumper. I had a lower back injury from the impact.

I have Allstate for my insurance and was told that the booster seat did not need replaced because my child wasn't in it and there was no real damage to my car.

Look at this checklist & info from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:

http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/childps/childrestraint...

It states:

NHTSA recommends that child safety seats be replaced following a moderate or severe crash in order to ensure a continued high level of crash protection for child passengers.
NHTSA recommends that child safety seats do not automatically need to be replaced following a minor crash.
*Minor crashes are those that meet ALL of the following criteria:
•The vehicle was able to be driven away from the crash site;
•The vehicle door nearest the safety seat was undamaged;
•There were no injuries to any of the vehicle occupants;
•The air bags (if present) did not deploy;
AND
•There is no visible damage to the safety seat
Clarifying the need for child seat replacement will reduce the number of children unnecessarily riding without a child safety seat while a replacement seat is being acquired, and the number of children who will have to ride without a child seat if a seat were discarded and not replaced. The clarification will also reduce the financial burden of unnecessary replacement.

you would need to replace them, whether the kids were in them or not. your insurance WILL replace carseats, just as it will repair the damage to your vehicle. my boys were in a bad accident with my mom - i flew them to her, walked out of the airport into the parking lot, installed their car seats(both were brand new britax boulevards), and flew back home - they had an interstate rollover crash on the way from the airport to her house! her insurance company cut me a check for about $600 to buy new ones, which i did right away.

Hi A-Teams Mommy,

I was in an accident myself with my sons car seat and I was told that I had to get a new one. The reason is because there could have been unseen fractures, thus not making it safe. I was told this by the police and fire departments here in Phoenix.

I hope this helps!

I. K.

No, a car seat nor booster seat can NOT be used after an accident. Not even a fender bender. Not even if no one was hurt, not even if there's no visible damage to the car or to the car seats. There could be damage internally to the seats or it could have caused a weakness in the seats that would make them less effective for normal use and (heaven forbid) a future accident.

So when you report an accident that you had to your insurance company you would then ALSO mention that you have to replace the car seats. Your insurance company will likely tell you to fax or e-mail the receipts of the new car seats and they will cover the costs. The car seats become part of your claim.

I'm relieved to see that your post said you were almost in an accident... that it wasn't an actual accident. I'm sure you're shaken up. I had an accident several months back caused by an a$$h0le driver and I had to replace some convertible booster seats plus two that weren't mine and my insurance covered everything and then included that in the claim against the guy that hit me.