Watchdog in new bid to have ‘defective’ car seat recalled

FRESH attempts are to be made to secure a recall of a defective car seat following pleas by a young mother whose baby died after her seat shattered in a car crash.

Catherine Hayes’s 11-month-old daughter, Shauna, died of severe head injuries after the plastic moulding on her car seat shattered, letting a safety strap loose, in a low-speed collision near her home at Miltown Malbay, Co Clare, in July 2003.

Shauna’s inquest in April heard of concerns from gardaí and two engineering experts about the seat. The coroner said she would refer the matter to the Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs (ODCA).