Florida Child Injury Lawyer Blog

On Friday, July 23, dozens of mourners of Orange City Beach, Florida attended the private memorial service of 4-year-old Aiden Patrick of Deltona, Florida. Aiden was killed in a beach-driving crash on New Smyrna Beach located in Volusia County, Florida. Aiden's parent made an emotional plea to Volusia County officials to make the beaches safer, Volusia County Council promised to make changes but did not ban beach driving. This is not the only beach-driving accident of the summer, Ellie Brand of Nottingham, England was run over by a vehicle in Daytona Beach.

If you would like to read more on this story see 4-year-old boy killed in beach-driving crash in New Smyrna Beach, Florida.

Also, if you would like to read more about driving crashes on Florida Beaches see Dangers to Children on Florida Beaches - Truck Runs Over 4 Year Old Child.

Continue reading "Private Memorial Service for Aiden Patrick, Pedestrian Accident Victim - New Smyrna Beach, Florida " »

The traffic on Volusia County, Florida beaches are becoming a problem. Four people have struck by cars on the beach, one fatally. Last month, a Daytona Beach, Florida woman was run over by a Beach Patrol pickup vehicle while she was sunbathing. The 52-year-old woman's leg was trapped between her beach chair and the undercarriage of the truck, she sustained a compound fracture to her right leg.

County records reveal that over the past five years, 43 people have been struck or run over by vehicles on the beach, at least 20 of these people sustained serious injuries. This number includes the tragedy of the 4-year-old girl, Ellie Bland, who was killed in last March on Daytona Beach. Volusia County's driveable beaches stretch for 16 miles and can see as many as 10,000 vehicles pass through the tollbooths on a busy holiday weekend.

Although attempts to ban driving on Volusia County beaches have been made, a complete ban is unlikely. Frank Bruno, Volusia County Chairman, said the only way to completely stop accidents from happening on the beaches is to totally remove cars from the beach, which cannot happen. If you would like to read more on this story see Driving on Volusia County, Florida Beaches creates dangers for beach goers.

Continue reading "Children and Other Visitors to Volusia County Beaches At Risk for Getting Hit by Vehicles on the Beach" »

In Florida, children are at risk for hyperthermia type of injuries year round due to the warm weather throughout the State. There have been a number of reported incidents of personal injuries, death, and prison time resulting from hyperthermia incidents in Florida. Michael J. Mooney wrote an excellent article posted in the Broward - Palm Beach - New Times Blog titled For Parents Who Leave Children to Die in Hot Cars in Florida - Punishments Vary Widely. Prison time and punishment varied across the State of the Florida for these type of incidents. For instance, Miami Dade County reportedly prosecuted every case while counties like Sarasota County did not. Each case and incident should be evaluated on its own facts.

Parents, babysitters, and other child care providers should read this articles and others to learn about the terrible dangers and tragic deaths that have resulted from leaving a child in a hot car in the State of Florida. The safety and welfare of a child should always take precedence over convenience and other pursuits. See also Death Results from Leaving Children in Cars in Florida. and Don't Leave Children in Vehicles to Go Grocery Shopping - It Is Dangerous to Children and Can Get You Arrested.

In Florida, there are many counties / beaches that allow vehicles to drive on or near the beach. It is a great convenience for beach visitors . . . it also poses a significant danger and risk to children and other visitors to the beach. Tragically, a 4 year old boy (Aiden Patrick) was run over by a truck in New Smyrna, Florida. The incident was reported / investigated by the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP). It was reported that the incident occurred as Aiden was running toward the water. The truck driver did not see the child as the front right tire hit / ran over the unsuspecting little boy. A fun day at the beach transformed itself into a tragedy that will affect the family of the boy, driver, and the community. You can read more about this story at Tragic Death of 4 Year Old Boy in New Smyrna, Florida.

Pedestrian deaths, including those in Florida beaches, make news headlines. Many of which are avoidable with better safety measures in place. Serious consideration should be given to removing vehicles off of Florida beaches. Walking that extra distance to the beach from your car can actually save a life.

Continue reading "Dangers to Children on Florida Beaches - Truck Runs Over 4 Year Old Child" »

In Florida, dirt bikes (motocross bikes) are popular among children and teens. There is plenty of space, trails, and places to ride dirt bikes. Like any other type of motorized vehicle, dirt bikes can be dangerous especially when operated by teen and children. The Orlando Sentinel reported that a 3 year old girl (Aiyna Bryant) suffered serious personal injuries when she was thrown off a dirt bike that was being operated by her 16 year old cousin (Jaime Johnson). The injured child was airlifted to Arnold Palmer Children's Hospital for emergency trauma treatment.

Some parents do not let their children operate or ride on dirt bikes or motorcycles. Others do allow their children on dirt bikes if there is proper supervision, safety precautions, helmets, and training. Accidents in life do happen even with all possible supervision and safety precautions. The problem is that there is an inherent danger and risk to riding dirt bikes. Parents and supervisors of children should read stories like this and use it as a teaching tool for their children.

A 52-year-old Alachua County school bus driver, Georgia Merriex, was cited after reportedly running into a car. The Florida Highway Patrol reported that Merriex was headed to Fort Clarke Middle School when a car stopped in front of her bus. Merriex tried to change lanes to avoid the collision but could not stop in time. Only one child on the bus complained of injury, a mild neck pain. All the other children on the bus continued on the trip to school. The driver of the other car did report any injuries. Merriex was cited with careless driver.

Luckily, no one in this collision suffered any severe personal injuries. Hopefully, the one child who did complain of neck pain recovers swiftly. Highways and roads are dangerous places for children. Added to their inherent dangerousness, is the increased amount of traffic during morning and afternoon commutes. All automobile drivers should be aware of their surroundings while driving. Driver distraction should be minimized. School bus drivers have the added responsibility of ensuring safe transportation of every child under their supervision. School bus drivers should be extra cautious so as not to jeopardize the safety of children and others while operating school buses on our Florida roads and highways.

To read more about this accident see Alachua County School Bus Driver cited with Careless Driving.

In Florida and other states, personal injuries and wrongful deaths continue to take place in and near railroad crossings and railroad tracks. This cases are much more complicated that a typical automobile accident and require the attention of experts trained in the field of railroad safety, equipment and regulations. It is far too simple for a person to say that drivers of passenger vehicles should stay off the tracks and away from freight trains or passenger trains.

When there is a railroad or train accident, legal questions and issues arise. Among them include the following:

What are my rights as an injury victim or family member of an injury victim involved in a railroad accident or incident?

What are the duties and responsibilities of the railroad?

Who controls the railroad crossing or intersection?

What safety precautions were in place? What safety precautions could have been in place?

Finally, was the incident avoidable?

Railroad companies benefit from the commerce and profit of conducting business over Florida's railways as well as railways in other States. While there are business benefits, there are also business and legal responsibilities to the public in general. The duties of the railroad will depend on the location of the crossing, history of accidents occurring at or near the crossing, terrain in and around the railroad crossing, availability of safety precautions including cross gates and lights, and finally the applicability of local, state, and federal railroad laws and safety regulations. Contact a Florida railroad personal injury lawyer to get guidance on these and other issues if you have questions about personal injuries or deaths occurring on or near a railroad crossing.

Railroad crossings protected with lights and gates are at least 90% effective in preventing accidents, according to industry experts. Railroad companies typically do not spend their own funds to install these safety devices at crossings, although there is no legal reason they could not spend their own money. It is railroad industry practice to wait or to delay the implementation of safety precautions until taxpayer money is allocated by the government before a crossing receives modern warning devices. Usually, a crossing is not designated by the government to be equipped with such warning devices until several accidents, often fatal, have occurred at that
crossing.

Also, in the 1970s, a Federally funded study found that the railroad warning horns are ineffective to warn the public of a train's approach in modern, more soundproofed, automobiles. Despite this fact, the railroad industry has done little to
nothing to increase the audibility of its trains.

The Florida Highway Patrol recently reported that a mother (Melissa Johnson) and two sons (ages 9 and 6) were recently killed at a railroad crossing. There was just a stop sign at this railroad crossing. There were no crossing arms, gates, lights, or other safety precautions in place. This railroad tragedy involved an Amtrak train carrying over 200 passengers heading to Jacksonville, Florida. You can read more about this story at Tragic Train Accident Ends Life of Putnam County Mother and Two Children.

A Lehigh Acres babysitter, near Fort Myers, Florida, was arrested when she left two children and two pets in a car while she into a salon to get a facial. A passer-by noticed the 6-year-old boy, 7-year-old girl and two pets in the car with the windows rolled up. The 22-year-old baby sitter said she left car running while she was in the salon, however, the passer-by claimed this to be untrue. The children were treated at a nearby hospital for heat stress and released. The county's Animal Control Department took the pets.

Parents as well as any child care providers including day care providers, teachers, babysitters, coaches, and camp counselors have a duty to protect children from harm. Babysitters should appreciate the responsibility they take on when hired to care for children. Leaving a child in a car unattended is never acceptable and worsened in cases when the event takes place at times of the year when temperatures are extreme- low or high. Hyperthermia increases during this time of year.

A child injury lawyer should be contacted to discuss the legal issues the arise from the negligent conduct of others that results in personal injuries or harm to a child.

To read more about this topic see Babysitter Leaves Children in Car While Getting a Facial.

Airbags in cars: are they helpful or harmful? According to a recent study, airbags save more than 1,500 adult lives per year; what about children’s lives? Due to the extreme force projected by an airbag explosion, these otherwise safety devices can be very harm to children because of their small size. Airbags explode the dashboard and side panels of an automobile in order to protect the driver and passenger. As a consequence, both the driver and passenger will come into extremely forceful contact with these surfaces of the vehicle and suffer personal injuries. For these reasons it is the best practice to have children ride in the backseat of any automobile. Also, the determinative fact should be the child’s weight not age.

Here are a few basic child safety tips regarding children in automobiles:

1. Children under the age of 12-years-old should be placed in child seats and secured by safety belts that fit them well.
2. The ideal place for a child in an automobile is in the backseat.
3. If your child uses an infant child safety seat, the safety seat should be faced backwards and secured in the backseat of the vehicle.
4. Children and adults should always wear their seatbelts. Parents need to ensure that the seatbelt fits comfortably and correctly on their children.
5. If traveling with a child that requires constant attention, it is best to travel with another passenger in the car. A child, in general, can easily distract the driver of the car. Therefore, another mature passenger can aid in decreasing such distractions and result in safer travel for themselves as well as other drivers on the road.

For more on this topic see Airbags and Other Safety Tips for Children in Cars.

In Palm Beach County, Florida, a 3-year-old girl was pronounced dead after being hit by an SUV that was driver by the girl’s mother. According to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, the child was hit by the SUV while the mother was moving the vehicle in front of a house. According to the story posted in the Gainesville Sun newspaper website, it was uncertain how the child got out of the house. The injured child was rushed to a nearby hospital (St. Mary's Medical Center) where she was later pronounced dead.

It cannot be stressed enough how imperative it is for parents, babysitters, day care providers, teachers and other caregivers to always keep an eye on their children and to keep children protected and away from dangers. Of course, some incidents cannot be prevented or anticipated. Furthermore, in life, mistakes do happen. It should be kept top of mind that children are unpredictable and are usually unaware of the dangers at home, school, day care centers, and other places. Children are too young to appreciate the high number of hazards they are susceptible to. Therefore, because children have poor safety awareness, parents and other child care givers should be alert and proactive in protecting children from potential harm and personal injury. The best method for protecting a child from negligent harm and injury is to always be aware of the child’s whereabouts. Also, if a child is in a home, all the doors and windows need to be locked or otherwise secured to prevent the child from wandering outside without proper supervision.

A child injury lawyer should be contacted to discuss the legal issues (liability, damages, insurance issues, child abuse and neglect claims, etc.) where there are issues or questions surrounding a child injury.

For more on this story see Mother Hits Child with SUV.

Teen driving is influenced by 5 major factors: inexperience, distraction, speed, fatigue, and lack of seat belt use.

Inexperience –

One study suggests that about 2/3 of fatal car accidents involve driver error, specifically those stemming from inexperience and distractions. It has been advised that teens should wait 6-12 months before they are allowed to give rides to their friends.

Distraction –

A car with two or more passengers increases a teen driver’s fatal crash risk by 3-5 times. The world of technology has provided drivers, of all ages, with an ample amount of distractions. A driver who uses a cellular device while driving is four times more likely to be involved in a serious car accident and suffer bodily injury.

Speed –

For male drivers, ranging in age from 15-20-years-old, 38% of fatal car crashes involve speeding. It is common sense, speeding kills.

Fatigue –

Driving while tired is the equivalent of driving while drinking. Drivers younger than 25 make up the majority group of fatigue-caused car crashes.

Seat belts –

Drivers of all ages should wear seat belts. Seat belts save lives. Teen drivers who do not wear seat belts are more likely to become a crash statistic than those teen drivers who do.

Parents should communicate to their teens the dangers of driving and emphasize the importance of safety on the road. Driving is very dangerous and everyone should do their part in keeping the roads safe. Beginning drivers should understand the monumental responsibility they take on when they are issued a driver’s license. Inexperienced driving is a major cause of automobile accidents. Car accidents can be devastating to all of those who are involved especially automobile accidents that cause serious personal injuries or wrongful death.

To read more on this topic see Teen Driving Accidents.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recognizes that there are dangers to children when bicycling or simply taking a walk in a neighborhood. Driveways can be especially dangerous to toddlers (1 to 2 years old) due to driveway accidents or back over accidents. The NTSA posted some basic but important safety tips that parents, teachers, day care providers, child care providers, babysitters, and others supervising children should review and print out to review with children. Tip # 7: Play It Safe: Walking and Biking Safely has some nice illustrations as well. Following these safety tips and providing consistent adult supervision of children can help prevent a great number of serious personal injuries and death to children.

According to The Children's Hospital Trauma Center, there are some main causes for traumatic related accidents or personal injuries to children. These include the following: automobile accidents, non-accidental traumatic accidents, bicucle accidents, and pedestrian accidents. Many accidents (while unexpected) can be prevented with better supervision by adults and more attentiveness by drivers and others.

The Children's Hospital, in addition to collecting statistics for the incidents of injuries, provided helpful tips for avoiding such accidents and incidents. The tips included the following: wear a helmet when skateboarding and bicycling, have a first aid kit available, talk to your kids about safety, talk to your children about the dangers of drugs and alcohol, and other helpful tips. See Preventing Unintended Injury Before It Happens.

In Jacksonville, Florida and other cities, small children continue to be unfortunate victims of back over driveway accidents and incidents. When a driver is backing out of a driveway or parking space, there are blind spots especially behind the vehicle. Children can be difficult to see especially if they are sitting, crawling or are shorter than the range of view of the driver. In Jacksonville, Florida, the Florida Times Union reported that a 16 month old girl suffered serious personal injuries when she was hit by a vehicle in a driveway / back over accident. See Toddler Run Over by a Vehicle Backing Up. For a similar story see Back Over Accident in Provo, Utah - Neighbors / Bystanders Save Child From Serious Personal Injuries.

In Escambia County (Pensacola), Florida, there was an accident involving a van and a bus transporting students from Pine Forest High School. It was reported that the van sideswiped the school bus that was occupied by the high school students. Drivers should always be alert when driving on Florida highways. This is especially important when there are children and school buses in the area. Florida Highway Patrol believes that alcohol may have been a cause or element of this crash. A high school student and a bus attendant were taken to an Escambia county hospital. See 2 Injured in Escambia County School Board Crash.

In Kissimmee (Osceola), Florida, a tragic motorcycle accident took place in front of Austin Tindall Regional Park on Boggy Creek Road. The accident took place on a sunny Sunday as the Bazooka Soccer Tournament was taking place. Even over the roars and shouts of parents watching their children play soccer, the loud boom of the motorcycle crash could be heard from Boggy Creek Road. Some soccer parents including one that was a medical doctor and one that was an emergency room nurse rushed over to the scene after hearing the motorcycle accident. Unfortunately, the motorcyclist's injuries were too severe for the biker to recover from.

The Orlando Sentinel later reported a story about this Kissimmee motorcycle accident at Traffic Fatality - Orlando Man Killed in Osceola County Crash. Loyd A. Scott, age 61, was the man who died in this accident. He was eastbound on his motorcycle on Boggy Creek Road. As Scott was riding his motorcycle, a van driven by Joseh P. Marek attempted to make a left hand turn. Thereafter, Scott crashed his motorcycle into the left side of the van. Fire rescue and police including Florida Highway Patrol responded to the scene. A full investigation will be completed to determine the cause of the accident including the speed and direction of the vehicles.

In addition to some soccer parents, some children were present during the aftermath of this accident. A normal sunny Sunday turned tragic for the motorcyclist, his family, and his friends.

On Kissimmee and other city roadways, drivers should exercise the utmost caution when driving. This especially applies to driving near schools, parks, and other areas where children may be. Drivers should pay special attention to pedestrians, bicyclists, and, yes, motorcyclists.

In Jacksonville, Florida and other cities, the lives of remarkable young people are often times cut short through a tragedy like an automobile accident. Some times, the simple act of being a good person or Good Samaritan can lead to tragic consequences. In Baldwin, Florida a 19 year old, Stephenie Lynn Acton, was the tragic victim of a recent incident that took place on U.S. 301. She was hit as she was helping another person with a flat tire. The death of Stephenie is a tragic loss for her family, neighbors, friend, and community. Because of these kind of automobile accident tragedies, teenagers like Stephenie never get the chance to reach their full potential. You can read more about this story at Good Samaritan Stephenie Lynn Acton Hit by Vehcile on U.S. 301 in Baldwin, Florida.

In Gainesville, Florida, police will be enforcing traffic laws pertaining to pedestrians and drivers pursuant to a campaign / mission to reduce the number of pedestrian accidents and incidents resulting in serious personal injuries. Police will now be more likely issuing citations and fines for failing to yield to pedestrians. Previously, police issued many warnings for such driving or jaywalking acts. Now, the enforcement will be beefed up in order to get the word out that failing to yield to pedestrians along with jaywalking are dangerous acts that can lead to serious personal injuries. Gainesville, Florida is home to the University of Florida. Streets and roads all over town are loaded with pedestrians. As such, Gainesville, Florida has its fair share of pedestrian / automobile accidents and related personal injuries. Hopefully, drivers and pedestrians will take notice of the enforcement program and change bad habits into safer ones. You can read more about this story at Gainesville Police to Ticket Jaywalkers and Driver's Who Don't Yield to Pedestrians.

In Gainesville, Florida - home to the University of Florida, the Alachua County Sheriff's Office, Gainesville Police Department, the UF Police Department are working to remind drivers to yield to pedestrians. With the presence of the University as well as a number of schools in the area, pedestrians are every where in Gainesville. Drivers should be on the lookout for pedestrians which include college students as well as much younger children. In an effort to encourage and remind drivers to yield to pedestrians, signs are posted in Gainesville publicizing the percentage of Gainesville driver yielding to pedestrians. Awareness and action are key components to this campaign. Many pedestrian personal injuries and deaths in Gainesville and other Florida cities can be avoided with better driving and by having drivers yield to pedestrians. See Gainesville Florida Signs Showing More Drivers Yielding to Pedestrians.