Replacing seats after crash

I am furious at myself that I didn't research this further at the time of the accident.

Back in September 2008, my husband and son (son was 20 months old at the time) were involved in a crash. My son was riding in a Britax Marathon on the driver's side...driver's side is where the impact occurred. Everyone was ok though, aside from a mark on my son's neck from the strap on his seat. There was also my daughter's seat in the car, on the passenger side...a Britax Roundabout. She was not in the car when the collision happened.

When we called the insurance company that day and told them of the car seats, they said that we could go out immediately and purchase a replacement for my son and they'd reimburse us, which we did. However, when I asked about my daughter's seat, they said that since it was not in use, it did not need to be replaced. They said something about the straps, and the impact, and that since the straps weren't in use, there was no need for replacement. It made sense to me, and I just went with it.

I'm now looking for links to share with a friend, since her DH was in an accident with her kids and he doesn't think the seats need to be replaced, and I'm finding information which suggests that my daughter's seat SHOULD have been replaced, even though she was not in the car.

Can anyone advise? Should her seat be replaced? If so, does anyone know if the insurance company might still pay for it even though the accident was 10 months ago? (I'd still replace it even if they won't, but it would be nice since the accident was not my DH's fault!)

Any advice is appreciated!

Recently went through an accident with seats in the car...

I would call Britax to find out. I heard a rumor (rumor only, don't hold me to it) that some Britax seats, if not IN use, are ok after certain types of accidents.

I cannot tell you it is safe. I would actually assume the opposite unless told otherwise by the company.

Call Britax...

It's not a "rumor". Britax adheres to the NHTSA guidelines ( http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/childps/ChildRestraints/ReUse/RestraintReUse.htm ). I think it's unlikely that insurance would pay up 10 months after settlement, but you could ask your agent.

What seats were your friends' kids in, and how severe was the crash?

Chickabiddy - I've read those guidelines from the NHTSA, but I don't see anything on there that talks about whether or not the seat was in use. Because of that, do I just assume that my daughter's seat should be replaced, since our accident was NOT what they would consider "minor"?

Also, I'm not sure what type of seats my friend's boys were in...but the accident was not major, and may actually fall into the NHTSA's guidelines for a "minor" crash...

If your crash was not minor, the seat needs to be replaced, whether it was in use during the crash or not.

AFAIK, Britax is the only company that allows reuse according to those guidelines -- if your friend has non-Britax seats, they need to be replaced.