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Hopefully all of the occupants are fine, but what do you do about a car seat that has been involved in a crash?
Previously, the caveat has always been to replace a model that has been in a crash but now, due to the constantly improving quality of today’s children’s car seats, that has changed.
NHTSA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, states that recent studies have shown that child safety seats can withstand the impact of a minor crash without affecting their future performance however recommend that child safety seats and boosters be replaced following a moderate or severe crash to ensure a continued high level of crash protection for child passengers. Minor crashes are those that meet all of the following criteria: the vehicle was able to be driven away from the crash site; the vehicle door nearest the safety seat was undamaged; there were no injuries to any of the vehicle occupants the air bags (if present) did not deploy; AND there is no visible damage to the safety seat.

For additional guidance:
http://www.safercar.gov/parents/carseats/using-car-seat-after-crash.htm
http://www.800bucklup.org/carseat/aftercrash.asp

, with DJS Associates, Inc., can be reached via email at experts@forensicDJS.com or via phone at 215-659-2010.