A Beaufort man will claim a child booster seat contributed to the death of his four-year-old daughter in a crash in which he was behind the wheel.
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Thomas Huby is contesting the cause of his daughter's death, claiming the girl was seated in a booster seat which was recently withdrawn from the market.
Huby faced the Ballarat Magistrates' Court on Thursday where it was established he would be contesting how his daughter died following the April 23 crash at Cardigan.
It is alleged Huby was travelling east on Remembrance Drive when he veered off the road and crashed into a tree near Draffins Road.
Huby's lawyer told the court he was instructed to contest the cause of death.
When questioned by magistrate Ronald Saines what alternative cause of death there could have been, he said the issue was the girl was seated in a booster seat which was recently withdrawn from the market.
Requesting the matter be adjourned to a contested committal hearing, the lawyer said he intended to question a specialist about the nature of the girl's injuries and how they could be related to a faulty booster seat.
The court heard the young girl suffered a number of injuries to her spine and bleeding into the brain.
"The question is whether (the injuries) could have been prevented if the booster seat was working properly," he said.
Huby, 25, was charged by Major Collision Investigation Unit detectives with culpable driving, dangerous driving causing death and other traffic-related offences from the day of the crash.
Four-year-old Isabella Huby, who was the only passenger, was taken to the Ballarat Health Services Base Hospital, but was pronounced dead on arrival.
Huby's legal team is also expected to cross-examine a witness who was also driving on Remembrance Drive when the crash occurred.
The court heard the driver claimed he saw the car Huby was alleged to have driven swerve over the road moments before the crash.
A number of other professional witnesses, including a crime-scene reconstructive investigator and sleep specialist, will also be called.
The matter was adjourned for a two-day contested committal hearing on August 9.