No Seat Belts Mean Child Abuse in NC

Parents, guardians and caregivers of children are legally obligated to provide certain safety means, like child restraints and seat belts. When a driver fails to correctly restrain a child under NC seat belt law requirements, they are committing a crime against the child. An adult who does not belt a child into a car seat is behaving recklessly and will be responsible for fines, potential jail time, life-long injuries, death or loss of custody.

Fayetteville Child Abuse

Lisa Lovell was charged with misdemeanor child abuse after her four-year-old daughter suffered injuries in a car wreck because she did not belt her child into the car seat. Officers reported that Lovell didn’t even have her daughter in the child seat. Lovell allegedly drove through two lanes of traffic and crashed her car into a telephone pole in Fayetteville, which caused her daughter’s minor injuries. In addition to Fayetteville child abuse charges, Lovell was also charged with possession of marijuana and failure to secure a child in a vehicle restraint system. Investigators are waiting for reports to return before they further charge Lovell with driving while impaired.

NC Child Car Seat Laws

It’s considered child endangerment if an adult does not restrain a child under eight years of age in a child safety seat. Child safety restraints are mandatory in North Carolina. NC occupant restraint laws state that “Children may be secured in a properly fitted seat belt at age 8 (regardless of weight) OR at 80 pounds (regardless of age) - whichever comes first. Placing the shoulder belt under a child’s (or adult’s) arm or behind the back is both dangerous and illegal.”

Child Abuse Attorneys Fayetteville

Contact child abuse attorneys in Fayetteville, Raleigh or Dunn with Brent Adams & Associates if you or a child you know has experienced harm because of another party’s negligence. Whether a babysitter failed to put on a child’s seat belt or a child comes home bruised after spending time at a day care center, child neglect attorneys with Brent Adams & Associates help families receive compensation for the harm caused to their innocent children.