May 1, 2011
This year, the Florida legislature decided that it does not want Florida to be an outlier when it comes to products liability law, and therefore passed Senate Bill 142 in order to expressly overrule D’Amario v. Ford Motor Co., 806 So. 2d 424 (Fla. 2001), which adopted a minority view regarding the allocation of liability in crashworthiness cases. The legislature did not see fit to do the same thing when it comes to the safety of Florida’s children, instead allowing Florida to remain an outlier as one of only three states that have yet to enact booster seat use requirements.[i] Indeed, the legislature completely overlooked the safety of Florida’s children by failing to enact Senate Bill 238, which would have revised the State’s child restraint requirements in order to bring them more in line with the current safety recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
[i] See Senate Bill 238 Bill Analysis and Fiscal Impact Statement prepared by the Professional Staff of the Transportation Committee.
Read Safety of Florida’s Children Ignored During Legislative Session.