Florida Child Injury Law Blog

Archive for December, 2010

As of June 2011, cribs will be  required to have fixed sides rather than the familiar drop-side crib models. The drop-side models are dangerous because their design places infants and toddlers at risk of serious and even fatal injuries.

 The ban on drop-side cribs was announced recently by the government after millions of recalls and the tragic deaths of more than 30 infants and toddlers over the past 10 years. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (USCPSC) voted unanimously to forbid the manufacture, sale and resale of the cribs which feature a side rail that moves up and down.

 Businesses, like hotels and childcare centers who use drop-side cribs, are prohibited to continue using the cribs and will be given a year to buy new ones. During the last 5 years, there has been a recall of 9 million drop-side cribs in the U.S. The cribs pose serious safety issues because of assembly problems and hardware that malfunctions causing the drop side rail to partially detach from the crib. When this occurs, a gap between the side rail and mattress is created in which a child can become trapped and suffocate or strangle.

The CPSC has ordered tougher safety testing for cribs and improved labeling on crib pieces to reduce assembly mistakes that can put children at risk.

This new crib standard is one of the strongest in the world and will greatly reduce crib-related hazards.

Clearwater Child Injury Lawyer Jim Dodson, author of the free consumer guide, “When Kids Suffer Big Injuries,” and your online resource for consumer health and safety tips, product recalls, and legal information related to child accident and injury prevention.

-Working to make safety, every child’s reality.

A Manatee County school bus accident sent 2 students to the hospital for treatment of injuries. The rear-end crash happened when the bus was stopped at the railroad tracks at U.S. 301 North and 19th Ave. East  when the driver of a pickup truck did not stop and plowed into the back of the bus. The  driver was identified as Juan Hernandez-Lopez, 27, of Palmetto.

Florida Highway Patrol reported Lopez was charged with driving under the influence (DUI) resulting in propertydamage/personal injury, driving without a valid Florida driver’s license,  failing to have proof of insurance and careless driving.

Florida law requires school bus drivers to stop at railroad tracks and check for oncoming rail traffic before proceeding.

Each year in Florida, so many young children lose their lives due to drowning accidents, particularly during the warm summer months. Although winter and cooler temperatures have arrived,  don’t let your guard down when it comes to protecting children anytime they are around a backyard swimming pool.

 Florida leads the nation for drowning deaths in children under 5 years old. And while supervision remains at the top of the list for drowning prevention, it is not the cause of drowning. Supervising children 100% of the time is impossible. Although most caregivers do an excellent job of keeping a watchful eye on children in and around water, the majority of drownings happen when children gained access to a pool area while adults were busy handling another child, a chore or think the child is playing or napping.

Florida Safe Pools, a water safety initiative program in our area has the right idea! The program focuses on the use of multiple layers of protection around a backyard swimming pool and its goal is to keep young children from getting or falling into it, in the first place.  Combined with adult supervision, the layer approach is in effort to reduce the number of drownings in our state.

 What are “multiple layers?” These layers of protection are as simple as a baby gate, door alarm, extra door locks, pool alarm, or a fenced in pool area. The additional layers are needed to HELP caregivers keep a watchful eye.

 Please visit FloridaSafePool.com to find out how to make your pool the safest on the block. You can even register for an in-home safety check at http://flsafepools.com/safety  and may even qualify for a free door alarm and installation.

 FloridaSafePool.com is Tampa Bay’s online resource for information on pool gates, alarms and swimming pool safety – made possible through a collaborative effort of All Children’s Hospital, Safe Kids of the Suncoast, Fl Dept. of Health, local Fire Depts., Parent Guide Magazine and Cox Media. A great group of people who are dedicated to keeping kids safe.

Our Clearwater Child Injury Law Firm is working to make safety every child’s reality.