Lap-style seat belt associated with high cervical cord injury in a child

Children who are not restrained by a safety belt are more likely to be seriously injured in road traffic accidents (Shellness and Charles, 1986). Seat belts can, however, be the cause of injury. The lap-style seat belt has been associated with lumbar spine fracture and visceral injury (Newman et al., 1990). Cervical injuries are relatively rare. We describe a case of high cervical transection without bony injury in a child restrained by a Lap-style seat belt. We are not aware of this being described in t-he UK before. The mechanism of cervical cord injury in this age group is discussed.