Florida Child Injury Law Blog

Archive for the ‘Hit as a Pedestrian’ Category

A report of a particularly heartless hit-and-run pedestrian crash comes from South Florida television station WSVN. Police are looking for the hit-and-run driver who struck a young child, who is now confined to a wheelchair.

The six-year-old boy, a pedestrian, was hit by a car when he crossed Lucy Street near Second Avenue in Homestead, in the company of his father and three-year-old brother, at around 7 p.m. on Thursday. The boy was in the turn lane when he was hit by the car. The driver fled the scene without stopping.

Police have located the vehicle, but the whereabouts of the twenty-two-year-old driver is unknown.

The injured child was taken first to Homestead Hospital and then to Miami Children’s Hospital. He has been released in a wheelchair with a rod in his leg.

Police are appealing to the public for help in locating the missing driver. Leaving the scene of an accident in which a person has been injured in a third degree felony in Florida at present, but the Florida legislature is considering a bill introduced by Senator Mike Fasano to increase the penalty to a second degree felony.

Florida child injury attorney James Dodson has successfully represented many children injured when hit by cars in the state and has assisted their families in recovering damages to assure that the injured child is able to receive needed medical care.

Attorney Dodson has written a book, “When Kids Suffer Big Injuries,” which he makes available free of charge to the families of children who have been injured as pedestrians, available at http://www.jimdodsonlaw.com/.

Kissimmee parents have expressed serious concerns for their children’s safety after a 13-year-old Neptune Middle School student was hit by a car while walking to get on her school bus on Tuesday. Florida law requires that traffic stop in both directions when a school bus is stopped with signs extended. The girl is expected to be okay, but parents complain that cars passing stopped school buses is a common occurrence. We have reported before on the number of children seriously injured or killed in school bus stop accidents because  drivers show such blatant disrespect for the law and the safety of children.

This accident happened at the intersection of Wellington Woods Circle and Hoagland Boulevard, an area that does not appear on Kissimmee’s list of areas where cars passing stopped school buses has been a problem. The road is patrolled, however, and police have been monitoring the area since the start of the school year. The Kissimmee Traffic Enforcement Unit has issued 98 citations to drivers for passing stopped school buses, but the problem persists.

Kissimmee and Orlando have been designated the nation’s most dangerous region for pedestrians by advocacy group Transportation for America’s Dangerous by Design study. Children should not have to be fearful when they walk to their school buses.

Jim Dodson Law recently obtained a settlement for a Pinellas County student who was seriously injured under almost identical circumstances to the Kissimmee school bus accident. While crossing the road in front of her stopped school bus, the child was hit by a car that was passing the bus from behind. The driver of the car was simply too impatient to wait. Irresponsible drivers who injure children must be held accountable!

 Studies have shown buses are the safest way for children to get to school. But due to funding cuts, some Florida school districts are limiting the number of students who will be able to rely on bus transportation this year.

Nearly 400 of Lake Minneola High School’s 1400 students will be ineligible for bus service because they live within two miles of the school.

More than 70,000 students In Orange and Seminole counties and 7,000 in Lake County are ineligible for bus transportation because of a two-mile limit.

Orange County Public Schools has cut about $9 million from its transportation budget over the past two years and is reducing about 15 of its routes.

In Seminole County, the district is combining routes for budgetary reasons, forcing some students to walk farther to get to bus stops.

Volusia County will no longer transport about 800 students taking advanced or specialized classes to campuses outside their school zones, saving the district about $300,000.

With more students walking longer distances, having to cross more busy roads, and walking on shoulders without sidewalks, more pedestrian accidents involving a child are inevitable.  Other students who once relied on school bus transportation will be arriving at school by car, increasing traffic and creating further risk of injuries from car accidents as well as pedestrian accidents.

Parents are understandably concerned.  With financial resources severely strained, school districts need to make cuts somewhere. But is saving money worth the risk of having a school child hit by a car and suffering serious injuries?

If your child has been hit by a car or injured in an accident, it is important to contact a pedestrian accident attorney as soon as possible to assess the case, as the child may have a claim for damages.  Clearwater pedestrian injury attorney Jim Dodson has been representing accident victims for 25 years and offers a unique No Fee for Kids program. Read more at http://www.jwdodsonlaw.com/library/no-fee-for-kids-jim-dodson-law.cfm .

Florida drivers must be aware of children when behind the wheel of a car. It doesn’t matter if a child is walking home from school, riding a bicycle or a passenger in a car. The greatest threat children face today is motor vehicle crashes. They are the leading cause of death for children ages 3 and older.

Child pedestrians are vulnerable for several reasons: their size, judgment and distractibility. So it is up to each of us to make up for these differences.

Here are some safety tips for drivers, published by AAA:

• Slow down near schools and residential areas
• Drive with your headlights on – even during the day so kids and other drivers can see you
• Look for clues, such as playgrounds, bicycles, school that indicate children are in the area
• Look between parked cars and other objects for signs of children
• Practice extra caution in bad weather
• Always stop for school buses that are loading and unloading students

Motorists must be responsible and held responsible, for watching out for child pedestrians.

AAA officials remind motorists and parents to be diligent about child pedestrian safety on Halloween. There are 4 times as many fatal accidents among children aged 5 - 14 on Halloween compared to the same time period on other evenings during the year.

As a Child Pedestrian Injury Attorney, I urge parents to discuss safe pedestrian rules with their children.

Motorists, please exercise more caution and observe speed limits while driving on Halloween.

Read more child pedestrian safety tips on Halloween here.

A study by the Florida Dept. of Education revealed too many drivers have limited understanding of  Florida laws governing the passing of school buses stopped to load and unload school children. The safety of children in and around school buses is tragically compromised by irresponsible and negligent drivers. Public service announcements to increase awareness and educate drivers and increased law enforcement and engineering measures to increase safety are beginning steps to reduce the alarming number of children who are injured or killed at Florida school bus stops. This is only a partial list posted by Bob Eubanks on February 26, 2010 on this website, to increase public awareness of those who have been injured or who have been killed  between 1981-2010.

Read the rest of this entry »

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.

SafeKids Worldwide, together with Fed EX, have created a program called “Safe Kids Walk This Way” in order to educate both  motorists and child pedestriansbout proper safety behaviors;  and create safer routes for children to walk.

The two organizations collaborate in more than 150 cities to host walk to school events. In the United States, these events take place on International Walk to School Day. This event is slated for October 6^th later this year.  “Safe Kids Walk This Way” initiates year-round school safety committees in order for students to have safer pedestrian environments.

 Safe Kids has posted some invaluable pedestrian safety rules on their website.  Children can be careless at times, spending five minutes with you child(ren) to reinforce some good rules of common sense is well worth the time and will protect your child from unintentional injury or potential dangers!