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Are Some Car-Seats Unsafe? Touriva and On My Way Models Raise Questions

August 1st, 2007 by John Campbell

According to a recent article in the Chicago Tribune, hundreds of thousands of Touriva car-seats that were sold at Cosco and manufactured by Dorel before 2005 pose a serious risk to children. (Click here to read the entire article and watch a video discussing potential problems with car-seat safety.)  The problem is that the car seat, up until 2005, had a plastic notch hidden beneath the cloth cover wear a child’s head would rest. 

An Oregon nurse discovered the problem while trying to understand why an 18-month-old baby had a skull fracture from a low-speed collision.  She concluded that the plastic notch was the cause.  She notified the company in 2000, yet they took no action until 2005.  The nurse was not the only one concerned about the notch.  A Texas family alleged that the notch hurt their child too, resulting in brain damage after a crash, and even an engineer from Dorel later labeled the plastic notch a “child safety concern.”

The Touriva is not the only car-seat with problems.  Evenflo produces the On My Way car-seat.  In the same Chicago Tribune article, journalist Patricia Callahan reveals that in testing on the On My Way seat, Evenflo learned that the plastic pieces that hold the seat in place can break, causing the car-seat to be thrown free in an accident.  Despite these tests, Evenflo did not issue a safety warning and did not disclose the information to the agencies which regulate car-seat safety.  
The problems with these car-seats raise two concerns.  First, and most important, both pose significant dangers to children.  They should not be in use.  Second, it seems that none of the manufacturers or sellers disclosed the problems with the seats to potential buyers.  If this is true, everyone who bought the seats was deceived.  Each consumer paid hard-earned money for an unsafe car-seat that they never would have bought if they knew the facts.  This isn’t right.

If you purchased the Cosco Touriva car-seat or the Evenflo “On My Way” car-seat, please feel free to contact me at 314-241-2929 or to email me by clicking here. I would be happy to talk with you. 

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