Florida Child Injury Law Blog

Posts Tagged ‘serious injury’

Teen drivers and cars can be a deadly combination. We all know this. And it’s National Teen Driver Safety Week so here’s some new info.

Statistics on teens and distracted driving is a topic we often cover on our Clearwater Car Accident lawyer website to raise public awareness. It is the hope of our personal injury law firm that by posting local crash reports as well as information about safety and injury prevention information, we can reduce the number of serious injuries suffered in a car crash.

Here’s another teen driver study, this one by the University of Texas at Austin. They looked at the relationship between time of day, number of passengers, kind of vehicle and seriousness of  injuries in teen car crashes. Some of  the data you might find surprising!

• Teen age drinking and driving is the deadliest combination.
• Driving a pickup puts teens at a far greater risk of injury than driving a car. (A more powerful engine appears to lead to more aggressive driving.)
• Driving with one young passenger is riskier than driving alone or with two teens in a vehicle.
• Drivers are more aggressive during morning rush hour.
• 16 and 17 year old drivers are more likely to drive aggressively than young people age  18-20 years.

Jim  Dodson and our Clearwater Car Accident Law Firm reminds you to wear white today to White Out Teen Crashes, in support of National Teen Driver Safety Week.

If you find yourself in the awful position of needing helpful  information after your child has suffered a serious injury, request a complimentary copy of my book, “When Kids Suffer Big Injuries” here.

School sports programs are beginning again with the new school year. And with that, our Clearwater Child Injury law firm provides some safety tips to preventing sports injuries.

The CDC reports almost 800,000 children under the age of 15 are treated in emergency rooms every year for injuries related to playing sports.  Tragically, many of our children die on playing fields as a result of some type of head trauma, head injury or underlying heart condition. 

 So how could sports injuries and serious accidents be prevented?  Vincent Iannelli, M.D., a board certified pediatrician and Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, suggests some of the following tips:

• Don’t let your children play through pain
• Encourage your child to warm up before exercising
• Ensure that your child is playing with youths of the same age group
• Check that the playing surfaces are properly maintained
• Teach your children to avoid dietary supplements such as GHB, GBL and so called performance enhancing substances
• Make sure adults trained in CPR are supervising your children

 Dr. Iannelli’s report also offers a significant amount of material related to heat stroke and important information from the American Heart Association – recommended reading for all parents whose children play sports. 

Clearwater Child Injury Attorney Jim Dodson represents families who have suffered serious injury or death due to the careless act of another.  Please call our office today for a No Cost evaluation of your legal case, toll free at 1-888-340-0840.

Last month seven manufacturers recalled two million cribs.  In November, Stork Craft recalled 2.1 million drop-side cribs that were a danger to babies.  36 child deaths have been attributed to faulty cribs since 2007. 

As a result, much needed and  new mandatory safety standards for cribs might become a reality in 2011.

 The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission voted 5-0 Wednesday in favor of the proposed regulations. The new rules would essentially ban the manufacture and sale of the very popular drop-side cribs. The announcement of the vote coincided with Pottery Barn Kids recalling 80,000 drop-side cribs that posed entrapment, suffocation and fall hazards. 

 It’s believed the new rules could come into effect next summer if a final vote in December is passed.

Clearwater St. Petersburg Child Accident and Injury Lawyer and author James Dodson, has written “When Kids Suffer Big Injuries, A Parents Guide to Child Injury in Florida,”  to provide parents and guardians with basic information to help them make informed decisions to protect their child’s legal rights. Request your FREE copy today.

 35,000 bottles of Scope Original Mint Mouthwash have been recalled in a cooperative manner between U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and the manufacturer, Proctor and Gamble.  The recalled bottles have the number 4 on the bottom.    

 The one liter size bottles are being recalled due to malfunctioning child-resistant caps.  Proctor and Gamble also omitted an important message on that bottles in not stating, “This Package for Households without Young Children.” 

 One of the ingredients contained in the mouthwash, ethyl alcohol, is toxic.  Ethyl alcohol can cause serious injury or death if ingested by a child.   Every seven minutes a child under the age of 5 goes to the Emergency Room because of an unintentional poisoning.  Household products are responsible for 60% of the poisoning accidents with children under 5.   

 There have been no incidents or injuries reported.

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.  

Skateboarding is a popular recreational activity, particularly among young teenage males. If your child is a skateboarder, chances are you know who Tony Hawk is.  You may have even bought his Xbox game! 

Skateboarding is an activity in which you move quickly over hard surfaces. It can lead to injuries that range from minor cuts and bruises to catastrophic brain injury. Each year in the United States, skateboarding injuries cause about 50,000 visits to emergency departments and 1500 children and adolescents to be hospitalized.

To improve skateboarding safety, a growing number of communities provide supervised skateboard parks. These may have professionally designed “bowls” and “ramps” or other designated skateboarding areas that are located away from motor vehicle and pedestrian traffic.

Naturally injuries can occur but they can be limited if your child follows a few safety tips. 

 1. Always wear a properly fitting helmet and protective gear.  Padding is available for wrists, knees and elbows. 

 2. Learn how to fall.  Landing on a fleshy part of the body is always best.  Try to relax rather than stiffen your body in a fall. If you are losing your balance, crouch down on the skateboard so you won’t have as far to fall.

 3. Practice common sense.  Avoid skateboarding at dusk or evening hours.  Never “skitch” a ride.  Skitching a ride is when a skateboarder hangs onto the rear or side of a moving vehicle.

 4. Use a quality skateboard and keep it in top condition, looking for needed repairs with every ride. 

To reduce the chance of skateboarding injuries, practice skateboarding safety and always use protective gear.