THREAD: Top booster and car seat manufacturer @Evenflobaby’s top booster seat engineer admitted in a deposition if real children moved the way they did in the company’s side-impact tests, they could suffer catastrophic head, neck and spinal injuries — or die.
So, how do we know that Evenflo, the maker of the “Big Kid” booster seat, put profits over child safety?
@d_porat & I uncovered a series of shocking depositions and internal documents from Evenflo about its boosters.
@d_porat & I uncovered a series of shocking depositions and internal documents from Evenflo about its boosters.
Even today, @Evenflobaby emblazons its Big Kid with “Side Impact Tested”
Here’s how an engineer discussed that marketing in a 2016 deposition:
Here’s how an engineer discussed that marketing in a 2016 deposition:
@EvenfloBaby “We side-impact test our seats but I don't think we say that we offer any type of side-impact protection.”
propub.li/2ufmS84
propub.li/2ufmS84
@EvenfloBaby We showed Evenflo side-impact booster tests to Dr. Ben Hoffman, a lead author of the @AmerAcadPeds car seat safety guidelines.
Here’s what he said:
“This looks horrific, and I can’t imagine it being in any way shape or form better under real life circumstances.”
Here’s what he said:
“This looks horrific, and I can’t imagine it being in any way shape or form better under real life circumstances.”
@EvenfloBaby @AmerAcadPeds Pushed to change the safety guidelines for the Big Kid so that Evenflo would not market them to children under 40 pounds, Evenflo’s vice president of marketing and product development expressed his exasperation.
@EvenfloBaby @AmerAcadPeds In the early 2000s, Evenflo told parents the Big Kid was safe for babies as young as 1 as long as they weighed 30 pounds or more.
One Evenflo engineer conceded in a deposition that he would “not put a 1-year-old in any belt-positioning booster, Big Kid, Graco, you name it.”
One Evenflo engineer conceded in a deposition that he would “not put a 1-year-old in any belt-positioning booster, Big Kid, Graco, you name it.”
@EvenfloBaby @AmerAcadPeds Then, in the late 2000s, Evenflo added side wings to its Big Kid to make it look more like Graco’s TurboBooster. An Evenflo document describing the strategy behind the new product said the consumer benefits of these new side wings included “increased perceived side protection.”
@EvenfloBaby @AmerAcadPeds *Perceived.*
Evenflo’s testing records showed the new Big Kid with side wings did no better than the old version.
Evenflo’s testing records showed the new Big Kid with side wings did no better than the old version.
@EvenfloBaby @AmerAcadPeds Evenflo could design its own tests and pass itself because of a hole in federal regulation.
There is no required side-impact crash test for boosters or other car seats – nearly 20 years after Congress passed a law requiring regulators to protect kids in side-impact collisions.
There is no required side-impact crash test for boosters or other car seats – nearly 20 years after Congress passed a law requiring regulators to protect kids in side-impact collisions.
@EvenfloBaby @AmerAcadPeds Evenflo’s senior product manager for car seats was asked during a deposition when he became aware of federal guidance that children under 40 pounds were safer in harnessed car seats, not boosters.
His answer?
"Right now, when you read it.”
His answer?
"Right now, when you read it.”
@EvenfloBaby @AmerAcadPeds Pressed on whether he had read the federal study that said moving younger children to boosters too early was dangerous, he said he didn’t get past Page 2 of a 13-page report an engineer sent him.
“I would have got to this math equation and immediately closed it,” he said.
“I would have got to this math equation and immediately closed it,” he said.
@EvenfloBaby @AmerAcadPeds Children in Big Kids have been injured. We spoke to this beautiful girl, Jillian Brown, who was paralyzed in a crash while seated in a Big Kid Booster. Now she uses her tongue to steer her wheelchair, and a ventilator keeps her alive. Her dad is suing Evenflo.
@EvenfloBaby @AmerAcadPeds Evenflo said driver error caused Jillian’s injuries and that the crash was severe. In response to detailed questions, Evenflo said its booster seats were safe, effective and affordable.
@EvenfloBaby @AmerAcadPeds Watch this video, produced by @lhwaldron
It reveals how Evenflo put children at risk:
For more, read the whole investigation here: propub.li/2ufmS84
It reveals how Evenflo put children at risk:
For more, read the whole investigation here: propub.li/2ufmS84
@EvenfloBaby @AmerAcadPeds @lhwaldron Today, it’s still possible to buy Evenflo Big Kid booster seats with labels that say they can be used by children who weigh as little as 30 pounds. We bought some from Evenflo’s website that said that.
@EvenfloBaby @AmerAcadPeds @lhwaldron After we asked Evenflo questions about this, the company changed its website so that the Big Kids it was selling were only safe for kids 40 pounds and up.
So we ordered another.
The Big Kid that arrived still said it was safe for children as small as 30 pounds.
So we ordered another.
The Big Kid that arrived still said it was safe for children as small as 30 pounds.
@EvenfloBaby @AmerAcadPeds @lhwaldron We at ProPublica do investigations like this all the time. If you liked it, please consider signing up for our (free!) newsletter so you can see our next investigations: propub.li/36ZNR4N
