Florida Child Injury Law Blog

Posts Tagged ‘collision’

An ATV accident, in Hudson on Saturday, injured 4 children. The all terrain vehicle was on Hicks Road heading south when it pulled into the path of a Ford Ranger going west on Denton Road. The Florida Highway Patrol reports the driver of the Ford left the scene of the crash. The collision resulted in serious injuries to the four ATV riders when they were thrown from the vehicle.

The three teens  and a twelve year old who were hurt were taken to local hospitals, according to a news report. One of the teens is in critical condition. The hit-and-run accident remains under investigation. Authorities are looking for information about the driver of the Ford Ranger.

Clearwater Child Injury Lawyer Jim Dodson, your online resource for free consumer legal guides , child safety and injury prevention articles, informative videos about steps to take after an injury and answers to your frequently asked questions.

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.

 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.