young girl paralyzed by seatbelt--segment on CNN Wed June 3

mtnbaby

New member
Regarding the segment on CNN Anderson Cooper 360, June 3 about a (now) 10 year old girl who is in the midst of suing GM because she was paralized by a "defective" seatbelt a couple of years ago (they were not specific but in "before" pics right before tht accident she looked quite young). The issue of the story was the fact that now that GM is in bankruptcy, they can no longer sue or collect money.
But, more importantly, I believe is the backstory...She was in the 3rd row of an SUV, her mom driving hit a tree and her seatbelt cut her off at her neck, paralyzing her. My husband announced--"the seatbelt WORKED she was just not properly in it!".
Is anyone accquainted with this story?? If so, I think we should bring it to CNN"s attention that the issue here is outdated seatbelt laws that allow parents to think that putting young children in seatbelts like this is safe!
 
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rochelle

New member
"Robert Dinnigan of Smithtown, N.Y., whose daughter Amanda, 10 became a quadriplegic in a crash two years ago blames the injuries on a faulty seat belt. He has sued GM and says her medical care costs $500,000 a year.

"It's not fair that she be victimized once by a defective seat belt system and then again by the mismanagement of a company that drove itself into bankruptcy," said Allan Shapey, a lawyer representing Dinnigan."


this case???
 

elle7715

Member
They should be thankful they aren't allowed to sue. If the car manual had any sort of booster recommendation they would lose and waste their money. How on earth are seat belts supposed to fit all adults and all children? It's just not possible. You wouldn't put a small kid in a roller coaster seat and expect them to fit and stay put, so why would you expect that in a car?
 

Evolily

New member
"Robert Dinnigan of Smithtown, N.Y., whose daughter Amanda, 10 became a quadriplegic in a crash two years ago blames the injuries on a faulty seat belt. He has sued GM and says her medical care costs $500,000 a year.

"It's not fair that she be victimized once by a defective seat belt system and then again by the mismanagement of a company that drove itself into bankruptcy," said Allan Shapey, a lawyer representing Dinnigan."


this case???

It sounds like it. In the pictures she looked to be booster age and the injuries looked to be the result of a mispositioned shoulder belt- of course I do not know the details. It could very well be a malfunction of GM's seat belts.

It's a very sad case under any circumstance :( .
 

BookMama

Senior Community Member
the issue here is outdated seatbelt laws that allow parents to think that putting young children in seatbelts like this is safe!

Yes, sadly if she was in New York at the time of the accident, and had passed her 7th birthday, it was perfectly legal (though of course not safe) for her to use just the seatbelt. :thumbsdown:
 

Jennifer mom to my 7

Well-known member
Yes, sadly if she was in New York at the time of the accident, and had passed her 7th birthday, it was perfectly legal (though of course not safe) for her to use just the seatbelt. :thumbsdown:

What is interesting about the NY state info is that it also has all this info in it if you look at it. Like, if you look for the law, you can get all this info, too.

http://www.nysgtsc.state.ny.us/sesa-ndx.htm

Scroll down and there are faq about when a child can come out of a booster, and includes most of the 5 step test.

Also, as far as I can remember, even on the GM website there has always been alot of child restraint safety info. Including links to safekids I believe. I can go back as far as 05 when looking for my van and checking out all the vehicles, that when looking for safety info, there is a click here for child safety info thing on the site. Also, there is a huge section in my 08 van gmc van manual on child restraint use and how to use them, etc. Including booster seats.
 

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