This week I picked up two infant seats from one of the local PDs because I had received a phone call from a social service agency that needed a carseat for an expecting client. This Spanish-speaking mom from Peru doesn’t own a vehicle and relies on taxis and public transportation to get around. I knew this particular PD had infant seats so I asked if they’d let me have a couple – and they did. They gave me new, baseless, 5-pt Dorel Arrivas with a 2006 DOM. The Arriva was a cheap infant seat that was popular years ago (popular as in many were sold) but currently it’s only available institutionally to CPS programs.
The first thing I noticed when I took off the plastic was a shiny yellow sticker on the buckle. When I looked, it said:
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Purchase / Use of this Product is Subject to
an Agreement to Resolve Disputes Outside of
Court. See Instruction Manual for Details.
!WARNING: Remove this label and discard. Label can be a choking hazard to your child.
(Anyone else see the irony in the warning about the sticker itself? Their lawyers are certainly thorough, aren’t they?)
Anyhow, I check the owner’s manual and low and behold, in the very back sandwiched between the warranty and the replacement parts order form are 3 pages of an “Agreement to Resolve Disputes Outside of Court”.
I can’t retype the whole thing but this is what it looks like. And it ends with this statement:
IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THESE TERMS, DO NOT USE THIS PRODUCT. CALL DOREL JUVENILE GROUP AT 1-800-630-6735 WITHIN 30 DAYS OF YOUR DATE OF PURCHASE TO ARRANGE FOR RETURN OF THIS PRODUCT AND REFUND OF YOUR PURCHASE PRICE.
Now, here’s my dilemma – how the heck am I supposed to give a seat with all these legal stipulations to someone who doesn’t even speak English? The manual is English only and while I speak a fair amount of conversational Spanish – there’s no way I can translate this legal agreement. Even if I could, I wouldn’t feel right about providing someone with a product that had such stipulations attached. And what does this tell us about the safety and quality of this particular product? I’ve scoured every other Dorel manual and none of them have this “agreement”. Only the Arriva manuals have it. If you have the CD of Child Restraint Manufacturers Instructions from SafetyBeltSafe, USA you can check it out. It’s seems pretty obvious that there was a reason that Dorel and their legal team decided to add this warning/agreement for this particular carseat. Honestly, that doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence in this product.
So now I feel stuck. I really don’t want to give this particular seat to ANYONE. And yet I don’t have another infant seat to give this woman (who is due in 2 weeks). I could give her a convertible but that wouldn’t be too helpful and it would probably wind up not being used. I’m sure the Arriva is better than holding the baby on her lap in the back of a taxi. But now I’m wondering about MY legal liability (something that, frankly, I never worry about). If a CPS program distributes these seats – does their legal liability end when they place the seat in the hands of the parent/caregiver?
I’m happy to report that our friends at Mia Moda were kind and generous enough to donate an infant seat for this mom. I was able to bring it to her last week one night after class. She was sooooo appreciative. I think it was much nicer than anything she expected to receive. And honestly, I was so relieved to have something other than the Arriva to give her. Thanks again to the wonderful people at Mia Moda! You rock!!!
Any news on this situation?
Thank you everyone for your kind and generous offers! I’ll keep you posted on the outcome.
The handle broke on it? The handle broke and a recall was issued on another of the Dorel infant seats, the “Comfort Infant seat.” What is with them and breaking handles?
I did a quick google of the seat- it looks like there were a lot of recalls, specifically regarding the handle breaking.
That warning scares me… ugh.
I don’t know where you are, but I have a Snugride w/o base good until Dec. 2011 that you can have if you can cover shipping 🙂 She wouldn’t use a base in a taxi anyway.
I wouldn’t buy or give out a product with that kind of warning. “If we kill your kid (which we’ve been known to do), you can’t sue us.” Really inspiring!
Geez, Kecia, I am tempted to offer you my keyfit for her. What a predicament.
I think that is alarming! They are telling you that they are almost expecting the product to fail! That would be a prime example of institutional classism!
(And I, too, am kind of scared by them feeling the need for this warning on this seat.)
“I think in most states, you cannot waive your right to sue for negligence even by signing a waiver.”
That’s true in all states.
If actual harm is done, and you knew it could occur, and did nothing to rectify the situation, you’re liable regardless of the victim signing a waiver. They’ll throw the waiver out as invalid or something like that.
That said, it does lead to a stricter standard for gross negligence if a waiver is in place. So if a parent misused the seat in any way, they might be found not liable, even if normally the court might say that they were at least partially liable.
Indeed. I think in most states, you cannot waive your right to sue for negligence even by signing a waiver. So I’ve been told in regard to the liability waivers on carseat checkup forms. That’s a generality, of course, I’m sure there are all sorts of workarounds and technicalities that vary from state to state.
Still, just having that kind of warning is scary.
Wow, that’s … bizarre. I have to wonder how it would hold up on court.
I would call the number, and ask them for a copy of the agreement (and instructions) in Spanish. I would explain that I need it quickly, to provide a client. (I’m sure this isn’t the first time it’s come up; they probably have it somewhere.) And then, I would give the document to the mother, and make sure she reads it, and discuss it with her. And, I would let her make the choice of whether to take the infant seat, or whether to take a convertible.
For what it’s worth, I have used convertibles in taxis, and would again.
I do have a car seat carrying bag for it. That is helpful.
Heck, if she chooses the convertible, I’ll even send you the $25 to buy a carry bag for her, to make it more likely that she would use the seat. (I’ve carried the car seat on my back while pushing two umbrella strollers connected with stroller connectors and also carrying a diaper bag and a carry-on before… It’s not that bad.)