Florida Child Injury Law Blog

Archive for the ‘Auto Accidents’ Category

A study in Pediatrics Journal reports parents who set firm but  loving limits on their teen drivers will have teens that are half as likely to get into a car accident as teens with un-involved parents. Teens will also be 71% less likely to drink and drive, 50% less likely to speed and 29% less likely to talk/text on cell phones.

We all know teens’ lives are more in danger in the car. Fatal car accidents are the leading cause of death for 16-20 year- olds.

Car accident risks increase when a teenager has a passenger in the car, has been using drugs/alcohol and if they are speeding. Ken Ginsburg, an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University Of Pennsylvania School Of Medicine recommends rules parents should set for teen drivers:

• no passengers during the first 6-12 months of driving
• Limit driving in bad weather
•  enforce curfews
•  maintain control of the car keys

 Finally reward your teen driver with a special privilege once they’ve been driving successfully and by your rules for awhile. –Just don’t buy them a car, studies show kids who do not have  their own car are 50% less likely to be involved in a car crash.

For additional information and safety resources to protect your teen driver, visit our Florida Child Injury document and resource library or contact our office for a free consultation @ 1-888-340-0840.

Early Friday morning a New Port Richey couple were about to retire to bed when the unexpected happened. 

 “We were walking into the bathroom and we heard this … crash. I came outside, saw the car where you see it now.”  A teen driver lost control of her car, sideswiped another vehicle, drove through the front yard and crashed into the home of Michael Whaley.  The impact pinned a van inside the garage.  Troopers cited the 17-year-old driver with careless driving.

 “I asked both kids… if either were hurt,” the retired police was quoted as saying.   Very fortunately for the teen and her passenger, there were no serious injuries in the car crash. Whaley’s home, though reportedly,  has $20,000 in damages. The accident could have had  serious injuries and consequences  had he and  his wife  been in the area where the car crashed. Whaley, it seems from a news report,  had a fairly calm reaction to the evening’s events and was relieved  no one was injured.

He remarked,  ”I got insurance…everybody got insurance.” Fortunately, in this case it sounds like insurance is not an issue, but that’s not always the case.

Many drivers in Florida are extremely underinsured and unprepared if they are responsible for damages far beyond the coverage they bought.  The damage to property caused in this accident may be covered by the driver’s Property Damage insurance on any policy insuring the car. Too many Floridians opt for the minimum Property Damage coverage of $10,000. Such coverage would pay for only half the reported loss to the home in this accident, leaving the driver on the hook potentially for the rest. Far too many crashes involving expensive cars cause property damaged liablity well in excess of $10,000 and drivers need to be aware of such potential liabilty and get the coverage they need. 

In addition,  many injured people I see in my office after an auto accident believe they have full coverage or are unclear about what they do have. Unfortunately, there are many uninsured or underinsured drivers on our roads – as many as 665,000 Florida drivers have no insurance, according to a 2004 report.  The Dodson Law Firm stresses the importance of uninsured motorist coverage - the least expensive and best bargain when it comes to your coverage. Check your policy’s coverage today!

For more information on car insurance from Florida Car Accident and Child Injury Lawyer Jim Dodson, request a FREE copy of his consumer guide about Buying Car Insurance in Florida It’s available on Amazon for $12.95 but offered at NO COST to Florida drivers on our website www.JWDodsonlaw.com.   

 Car accidents are THE MAJOR cause of childhood fatalities and injuries. Fifteen thousand (15,000) children die and over 1 million are injured in the U.S. yearly in motor vehicle accidents.

Children learn more from what we do than what we say! Here is a list of precautions you must insist upon when transporting your child:

SAFETY GUIDELINES:

1. Mom’s lap is unsafe. In a collision, a child could be crushed between the adult and the auto interior. Even if the adult is wearing a safety belt, a child could be wrenched from her arms in a collision. Also, never put a seatbelt around both you and a child, or even two children.
2. All car doors must be locked. Engage door handle locks (if your vehicle is equipped with them) if you’re riding with small children. These devices prevent rear seat passengers from opening the rear doors from the inside.
3. Children must never be loose in the front seat and, most importantly, never stand in the front seat. It is impossible to prevent a child, who is sitting beside you, from being flung forward by extending your arm during a crash. In a 20 mph crash, an unrestrained 25 lb. baby has a weight equivalent to 500 pounds!
4. Children must never be unrestrained in the cargo section of a station wagon or let loose to run around inside a van or SUV. Also, NEVER let anyone ride in the bed of a pickup truck, even one with a tarp or shell.
5. Children should sit in the back seat. If a child has no choice and must sit in the front seat with a passenger air bag present, always use a car seat, booster seat or seatbelt (whichever is appropriate), and have the passenger seat as far back as it can go. If the car has an airbag that can be deactivated on the passenger side, do so before placing your child in the front seat. Never put an infant less than 1 year of age in the front passenger seat of a vehicle with a passenger side airbag that cannot be deactivated.
6. EVERYONE in the vehicle must buckle up. An unrestrained adult is a poor role model and can be thrown into others causing serious or fatal injuries.

We recently became aware of some very compelling information regarding the growing concern of backover accidents. 

 All vehicles have blind spots, where visibility may be limited. High profile cars such as SUV’s, trucks and vans can be dangerous due to  their design.  As a result, unsuspecting children are seriously injured and even fatally injured. Backover accidents occur in both residential areas, as well as other common  places such as parking lots. 

 Here are some astonishing facts and figures to consider:

1. Most victims of backover accidents are toddlers (12-23 months old)
2. 60% of the time, Trucks, Vans, SUV’s and other large sized vehicles are involved in the accident 
3. A parent or close relative is behind the wheel in over 70% of these accidents 
4. Annually over 2,400 children are attended to in emergency rooms, as a result of being struck by or rolled over by a vehicle

It’s reported that 100 children are killed each year from these accidents.  Improved technology by manufacturers and standards to increase rear visibility could potentially be a true safeguard to children.  But the ultimate responsibility is to the driver.  Backing up is risky and requires a driver’s complete attention. Patience and a willingness to slow down and drive defensively…even while backing out of a driveway, will provide a safer haven to children and prevent a real tragedy.

Our Florida Child Injury document library contains  a resource article with information concerning safety devices to reduce the risk of backover accidents.  

Teens who have their own car are more likely to have a car crash than those who share a family automobile.  This came from an interesting study released earlier this year by researchers at Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia.

The statistics are staggering.  One out of every four teenagers who possess their own car has been in a crash.  That percentage drops to 10% for teens who share a car.  Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens, killing more than 5,000 each year. 

In 2007, 7,000 people nationwide were killed in automobile accidents involving a teen driver.  3,000 of these individuals were teenagers. 

Our firm website provides important safety information in an effort to educate young drivers to avoid accidents and injuries, such as “Make Rules for Your Car”. There are also links to resources about subjects such as distracted driving and video links to teens and their own personal experiences with driving  and accidents.  

If you need more information, request  Jim Dodson’s  free accident book  and learn common mistakes to avoid if you or a loved one have been involved in a Florida Accident. Although the book is available at no cost, the information is invaluable.

Parents are well aware of the popularity of texting.  It’s become a widespread form of communication for teenagers over the last decade.  But when teens attempt to text and drive the results can be disastrous.

 A team of researchers from Eastern Virginia Medical School and Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters in Norfolk studied the actions of 21 teens between the ages of 16 and 18 in a series of simulated driving experiments.

 Teens drove through rural and urban simulated settings in 10-minute time blocks.  First without any distractions and then while text messaging, talking on a cell phone or operating a MP3 music player.

 Donald Lewis, chief of Eastern Virginia Medical School’s Department of Pediatrics said the findings although not surprising were frightening.  The worst results came when the teens were texting.  Mistakes included slowing down dramatically and weaving more than a foot outside their simulated lane.

 The problem appears to be epidemic. AAA recently conducted a national survey and found that 46% of teens send text messages with their cell phones while driving.  At this point, 19 states and the District of Columbia ban texting by all drivers, while 9 others prohibit it by young drivers.

The Florida Department of  Highway Safety held a public service  event  recently, to educate  local parents about the correct installation of  a child car seat.  The training was  an effort to reduce the number of injuries suffered by children who are either riding unrestrained or in improperly installed safety seats.

The  event, which took place in Tallahassee and the surrounding areas was appropriately called,  ”Help Keep Florida’s Children Safe.”  Officials were on hand to check out  the installation of existing car seats for parents as well as to provide new seats at a discounted price for families in need. 

We commend the efforts of the Florida Department of Highway Safety in educating  parents. We read all too often of tragic accident reports of toddlers or small children  seriously injured because they are riding in a car either unrestrained or not in an age appropriate car safety seat or booster seat.

The unexpected accident does happen.  Always safely secure your children to avoid injury, even when traveling a very short distance.

What: Child Injury with Booster Seats

Photo from Tampa Tribune

In a recent article by the Tampa Tribune, Florida,  1 of 3 states who don’t require booster seats for infants, could rethink this situation in a  newly proposed bill  which will  ticket those who don’t use one. Thad Altman’s bill would mandate car booster seats for children ages 4 to 7 or those under 4 feet 9 inches tall.

A booster seat’s primary purpose is to secure a child in the seat while helping the seat belt fit correctly in the booster seat. This tightly secures the child in the seat to prevent injury. 

Car crashes are the leading cause of death for children in the United States. In Florida, 35 child passengers younger than 10 died in crashes in 2008 -an additional 7,754 were injured.

The Journal of the American Medical Association published a report in 2003 showing that children in that age group were 59 percent less likely to suffer an injury in a car crash if they were in a booster seat rather than only wearing a seat belt.

Florida has a dubious distinction- being one of just three states who does not require booster seats – a distinction that is hopefully going to change!

 Authorities don’t know why a 44-year-old Kissimmee man lost control of his car Sunday night, causing him to hit a light pole and sign post. The man was taken to Osceola Regional Medical Center where he died from his injuries.

A 9-year-old boy who was a passenger in the car was taken to Arnold Palmer Hospital to treat serious injuries he sustained in the car crash. Florida Highway Patrol says  the boy was not wearing a seatbelt.

The Dodson Law Firm urges all drivers and passengers to wear seatbelts.  The failure of a child to wear a seatbelt or use a child restraint safety device is a contributing factor in more than one-half of the accidents in which a child dies.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports, “safety belts, when used, reduce the risk of fatal injury to front-seat passenger car occupants by forty-five percent. Wearing a seat belt is no longer an option. It’s the law.