Florida Child Injury Law Blog

Archive for February, 2010

Parents always have to be ready for the unexpected minor injuries children suffer as they grow.  A well-stocked First-Aid Kit is a good precautionary measure to  protect young ones from common childhood bumps and bruises and an essential to have at home. 

 Dr. Robert Steele is a board certified pediatrician, as well as an expert contributor to ivillage.com.  Here’s a list of 17 items he feels every First-Aid Kit must have.

•  Acetaminophen or ibuprofen
• An accurate measuring device
• Ice packs
• Elastic and adhesive bandages
• Gauze and adhesive tape
• Small sharp scissors
• Alcohol pads
• Thermometer
• Petroleum jelly (Vaseline)
• Calamine lotion
• 1-percent Hydrocortisone ointment
• Diphenhydramine (Benedryl)
• Antibiotic ointment
• Self-injectable epinephrine
• Tweezers
• Penlight
• List of important phone numbers 

 You can also find additional information on First-Aid Kits at KidsHealth.org.  Consider keeping one kit at home and one in the car.    

The driver of a car struck two children,  a teenager and her younger brother as they were walking home from school at  Gulf Trace Elementary on Tuesday afternoon, according to a news report. The news article stated the woman driver may have blacked out while driving.

 The boy suffered a broken leg and the girl incurred head and neck injuries in the collision.  A Pasco County spokesperson stated that the injuries are not life threatening.  The Florida Highway Patrol does not believe that the accident is alcohol related.  The pedestrian accident is under investigation. 

 It was reported that both of the children were taken to Bayfront Hospital to be treated for their injuries.  In pedestrian accidents such as this, when a victim suffers a head and neck injury it’s always best to exercise extreme caution and watch  for any signs of a closed head injury -  never underestimating the extent of the injury.  Serious injuries can create substantial medical costs which at times may exceed the policy limits of the insured’s coverage.

Last week in Orlando, a group of 50 parents, volunteers and children all gathered in front of City Hall to voice their support of the Freedom Ride program.

 The program aids disabled youths and adults at Trotters Park through therapeutic horseback riding.  Those who participate in Freedom Ride are living  with a variety of disabilities and life challenges, some of which include: cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, ADD, autism, deafness, and blindness.

 The city of Orlando has decided not to renew the lease at Trotters Park after it expires next year.  It’s reported that city officials feel the land is needed for more soccer and basketball facilities. 

 The mother of one child, Jonathon Forthuber, who has cerebral palsy, explained the importance of the program. “He can’t walk, so when he’s on a horse, he’s walking. Things these kids shouldn’t be able to do, they’re doing. They ought to have an opportunity to keep doing it.”

 Mayor Buddy Dyer is exploring other options to possibly facilitate the needs of the program. 

The Dodson Law Firm wishes the families, children and volunteers well in these efforts and hope their voices will be heard by city officials. Freedom Ride sounds like an extremely worthwhile program, reaching out to the more than 50,000 disabled people  in the Central Florida area while providing an invaluable opportunity for this group of  children and adults.

Two years ago when a 15-year-old autistic boy came home his parents found him with a contusion on his forehead and a scrape on his nose.  What happened?  That’s the debate that is going on in an Orlando federal courthouse, according to a news article published by the Orlando Sentinel.

 Rosmarie and Lawrence Casto have filed a lawsuit against the Princeton Charter School alleging that the school physically abused their son, Christopher. 

Also alleged is the staff tackled, jumped and sat on Christopher — depriving him of breath — and held his face against the ground.

 Princeton House officials maintain that they did nothing wrong and that their staff responded to the teen’s behavior correctly.  “He was just being violent,” said Carol Tucker, executive director of the Princeton House. 

 Staff had to restrain Christopher because of potential injuries to other people, as well as property damage that could have been incurred, she said.  “We do the best we can under terrible situations,” she said.

 Christopher, the report states,  now lives in a group home, where he requires a strict routine and consistent care.

Today, weight loss surgery is not limited to only adults.  In a recent report by the New York Times, Dr. Evan Nadler, co-director of the Obesity Institute at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington stated, “I honestly believe that in 5 to 10 years you’ll see as many children getting weight-loss procedures as adults.”

 There are concerns, however.  “You don’t really know what the outcome is,” said Dr. Edward Livingston, chairman of gastrointestinal and endocrine surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. “You talk about the benefit being that it prevents kids from terrible chronic disease later in life. But some of them are going to regain weight. Some of them are going to have long-term complications and we won’t find out until later.”

 The questions that come to mind are obvious.  Are the surgical measures appropriate?  Would a diet and lifestyle change be more fitting?  While bariatric surgery may be warranted in some instances in order to prevent a child from suffering serious complications from obesity, given some of the questions that have been raised it clearly is not a surgery performed because of cosmetic reasons.

Dr. David Ludwig, a pediatric endocrinologist at Boston’s Children’s Hospital and a leading expert on the subject, understands the pros and cons. He asserted in an online report that surgery with appropriate safeguards may be an option for those that have been carefully screened and have failed to have any success with other measures. 

But clearly there are risks. Bariatric surgery, he said, “can result in horrendous complications, require repeat surgeries and create a whole new set of medical problems.

 In the coming years more studies will undoubtedly emerge.  For more information on this important topic, the Mayo Clinic provides a wealth of resources regarding childhood obesity and treatment options.

Understanding and protecting the rights of children is imperative.  No parent, guardian or caretaker of a child should ever leave a child unattended in a motor vehicle.  This applies not only to family members but naturally to babysitters and day care centers as well.    

Children suffer serious bodily injuries and death being left in a car from a variety of dangers such as: extreme heat  or hyperthermia, strangulation from activating power windows and crashing when a car is knocked into gear. 

Florida State Statute:  FSS 316.6135 states  the following about leaving children unattended or unsupervised in a motor vehicle and the penalty of doing so.

“No parent, legal guardian, or other person responsible for a child younger than 6 years of age shall leave such child unattended or unsupervised in a motor vehicle for a period in excess of 15 minutes; however, no such person shall leave a child unattended for any period of time if the motor vehicle is running or the health of the child is in danger.” “Any person who violates the provisions of subsection (1) is guilty of a noncriminal traffic infraction, punishable by a fine of:  Not more than $100; or not less than $50 and not more than $500 if the motor vehicle was running or the health of the child was in danger at the time of the violation.”

Any law enforcement officer who observes a child left unattended or unsupervised in a motor vehicle in violation of subsection (1) may use whatever means are reasonably necessary to protect the minor child and to remove him from the vehicle. If the child is removed from the immediate area notification should be placed on the vehicle.

Twelve states have laws specifically prohibiting leaving young children alone in cars. Child advocacy organization, Kids and Cars has been an influential lobbying group in the effort to toughen up legislation addressing the problem. “We’re trying to get people to realize it is just as dangerous to leave a child alone in a vehicle as it is to leave him near a body of water,” said founder and president Janette Fennell.  She reports “There are more states that make it illegal to leave an animal alone in a car than a child,  there has to be a specific law to make it illegal to leave a child alone. We want people to understand the dangers.”

Close to 2,500 pull toys with wooden parts that can break or become dislodged and pose a choking hazard to a child were recalled by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission this week.  These toys manufactured by the Manhattan Group have been sold nationwide in gift and specialty shops as well as online and in catalogues.    

 Approximately 14,000 umbrella strollers that might amputate a child’s fingertips as they’re unfolded were also recalled. While there have been no known related incidents reported in either case, there have been reports of injuries related to children’s lamps and wind chime toys recalled this past week.

The childrens’ lamps involved in the CPSC recall are  360,000 Discovery Kids Animated Marine and Safari Kids lamps with defects in the printed circuit board which could cause an electrical short, posing a fire and burn hazard to children.  There have been 9 incidents reported including lamps catching on fire, smoke inhalation injury to a child and minor property damage. 

The decorative lamps are silver colored and have rotating films with marine or safari scenes. “Discovery Kids” is printed on the front top left corner. Consumers have been instructed to immediately stop using the lamps and contact the company, Innovage,  for a ful refund.

 The best recalls are those where an awareness to a potential hazard is realized before any child has been injured. 

Obesity in children can lead to a shorter life.  Those are the results that were found in a study published this week by the New England Journal of Medicine.  Thousands of children were tracked through adulthood and the heaviest youngsters were more than twice as likely as the thinnest to die prematurely, before age 55, of illness or a self-inflicted injury.

 A condition called pre-diabetes brings great concern. Youngsters with this condition were at almost double the risk of dying before 55, and those plagued with high blood pressure were at some increased risk. Obesity however was the factor most closely related with an early death, researchers said.

 “The message here is that if you take your kid to the doctor and the doctor says, ‘Well, their blood pressure is O.K., their cholesterol is O.K. and their sugar’s O.K..,’ the kid who’s obese still warrants our attention,” said Dr. Peter F. Belamarich, chief of specialty medicine at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in the Bronx.

 In Florida, 33% of children are considered overweight or obese.  This is higher than the national average of 31.6%.  These statistics have gradually risen since 2003.

Respiratory Syncytial Virus or RSV is responsible for 4,500 deaths and 125,000 hospitalizations of young children each year.  The symptoms of the RSV virus are similar in nature to the common cold:  cough, congestion, sneeze, runny nose and fever. 

Dr. John Prpich, a Tampa pediatric pulmonologist, said in an interview  that newborns are among those most at risk to the virus, as are premature babies and children with other health conditions, such as congenital heart disease and cystic fibrosis. Annually, an estimated 2 million children, 5 years old and younger will require medical attention for RSV-related illness, a 2009 New England Journal of Medicine report said. 

 Florida has the nation’s longest RSV season.  In the Tampa area, the virus generally is in peak season between August and March.  St. Joseph’s Children Hospital treated 332 hospitalized cases alone last year.

 Parents can find out more about RSV by visiting rsvprotection.com, there you’ll find helpful facts and resources that detail the virus.

Rsvprotection.com

http://www.rsvprotection.com/what_is/what_is.aspx

A recent article in our local paper about a 9 month old baby almost drowning in a pool while being watched by grandparents is a stark reminder of our need to be vigilant when having children around swimming pools.

Even though both grandparents said they had a eye on the baby, a brief period of distraction has the potential to lead to a heartbreaking consequence .

Child and Infant Pool safety information is important for every parent. From KidsHealth.org, the Dodson Law Firm  provides a list of pool safety reminders for adults and kids.

• Always have an adult watch you when you are in the pool — even in your own backyard. Never go in the pool if an adult is not  around.
• Gates are around pools for a reason — to keep kids away from the water when there isn’t a lifeguard or adult around to watch them. Never go through any pool gates when they are closed. Stay safe and stay out!
• Always obey pool rules.
• Swim with a buddy.
• If you’re learning to swim, ask your mom or dad to make sure your flotation devices are Coast Guard approved.
• Walk slowly in the pool area. Don’t run.
• Swim at a depth that is safe for you. If you’re just learning to swim, stay in the shallow end.
• Don’t push or jump on others. You could accidentally hurt someone or yourself.
• Toys to help you float come in many shapes and sizes (an inner tube, air mattress, or beach ball, for example). Although they are fun and can help you while you learn to swim, what they can’t do is save a life. They’re toys that can lose air or float away.
• Don’t chew gum or eat while you swim — you could choke.

Be safe around pools and other swimming sources. With Spring around the corner, these rules are important to pool safety for children and infants.