Florida Child Injury Law Blog

Posts Tagged ‘fatal injuries’

 Independence Day is fast approaching and as with every 4^th of July, this means one thing to children…fireworks!  Unfortunately, thousands of children are injured in fireworks accidents every year.  Some sustain second and third degree burns on their hands and legs, while others suffer scarring and permanent disfigurement and others tragically, die from fatal injuries.

 The Dodson Law Firm represents children injured in serious burn-related injuries as well as from fireworks accidents. Firework burn injuries can be some of the worst injuries a child can suffer. Their danger is very real.   

 According to the U.S. Product Safety Commission, last year fireworks were involved in almost 9,000 emergency room visits.   Children and young adults under the age of 20 accounted for more than half of all the injuries. 

 More Fireworks Facts:

•  Firecrackers and sparklers are responsible for the greatest number of injuries for children 14 & younger
• Half of all fireworks injuries happen to bystanders
• 200 children age 4 years and under were injured by sparklers in 2007
• Males were involved in 73% of all fireworks accidents in 2009

 This holiday, consider taking your family to a supervised public fireworks display put on by trained professionals.

 Here in the Tampa-Clearwater -St. Pete area, there are several 4^th of July events and celebrations planned.

 Please enjoy your holiday and keep safe!  Working to make safety, every child’s reality – your Florida Child Injury Lawyer

In a Clearwater accident, a 2-year-old  child was injured when he was hit by a car Friday night. 

Reports say the boy had been standing with his mother at the corner of Cleveland Street and Frederica Avenue when he suddenly left the sidewalk and ran into the path of the oncoming vehicle.

Paramedics treated the child and he was then airlifted to Bayfront Medical Center due to serious injuries.  The driver of the vehicle has not been charged but the accident is under investigation.

Children, especially toddlers, are too often seriously or fatally injured as pedestrians. Toddlers (age 1 to 2) sustain the highest number of pedestrian injuries,  primarily due to their small size and limited traffic experience. Dangers for young children on the move include: darting out into traffic, playing in or near the street and riding a tricycle or bicycle in a parking lot, driveway or street. The news report states the child had been standing on the sidewalk with his mother prior to darting out into the street.

Young children are particularly vulnerable to injury around traffic because they can not judge distance or how fast a car is speeding toward them. They move quickly and run into the street without warning and are difficult  for drivers to see because of their small size.

Take these steps to safety:

Supervise, supervise, supervise!

Talk to them about street safety.

Set a safe example for children.

Find safe places for them to play.

 Florida Child Injury Attorney, working to make safety every child’s  reality.

 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.