An 8-year-old Minnesota boy is suing his parents
in state Supreme Court, seeking damages for the grievous injuries
sustained when he was thrown from his mom's SUV because of an
improperly-buckled seat belt. Teddy Harrison, now confined to a
wheelchair after suffering brain damage from the injuries that occurred
in 2001, is suing his parents, Amy and Ted Sr., in a lawsuit filed on
Teddy's behalf by his grandmother.
Teddy's parents are hoping they will lose the case, because that would hopefully force their insurance company to pony up on their $100,000 policy.
Wait. Is that my head exploding again?
The fallout from this case could be enormous. It "could make it easier for parents of
injured children to collect from insurance companies in certain
instances, but caregivers and insurers could find themselves facing
financial responsibility if a child gets hurt while riding in an
improperly installed car seat." And as many as 82% of car seats on the road today are improperly installed, often due to the confusing LATCH system, which was supposed to simplify installation. In addition, "motorists involved in wrecks with
child-carrying drivers could try to skirt financial responsibility by
pointing to a parent's negligent car-seat use".
So what are we to make of this? It looks like either way, it's a good time to check out your local car-seat inspection station,
to ensure that you're not one of the 82%, or that your child doesn't
become a statistic like Teddy and have to sue you one day.
