Florida Child Injury Lawyer Blog

Child safety advocates and parents are upset with the Consumer Product Safety Commission's position regarding pool and hot tub safety involving drains. The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act was enacted in 2007. This law required that public hot tubs and pools have drain covers and a back up system in place if the drain has an obstruction in place. The CPSC has interpreted this law to eliminate the need or requirement for a back up system. By having a back up mechanical system in place, suction related personal injuries and deaths to children can be prevented.

Some suction or drain related deaths have resulted right before the very eyes of parents who were rendered helpless by the mechanics, force, and physics of the situation. Safety measures are vital to protecting children in swimming pools and spas. While supervision is a key element to child safety, construction and mechanical standards are very important as well. You can read more about this story at Swimming Pool and Spa Safety Advocates Upset with CPSC Interpretation of Safety Standards.

For many, July 4th is a fun day filled with swimming, BBQs, baseball games, and, yes fireworks. There are many forms of fireworks. Some fireworks are big shows run by cities and Disney World. While other firework displays are much smaller in size and reach, some people including children play with Sparklers. Compared with the big bang and lights of some fireworks, Sparklers seem like harmless fun; however, looks and power can be quite deceiving when considering Sparklers. Emergency room doctors and other health care providers know the consequences, dangers and harm caused by Sparklers. The Salt Lake Tribute reported that Sparklers burn a a temperature in excess of 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit. Some experts estimate that 1/3 of fireworks related injuries are attributed to Sparklers. You can read more about this story at Sparklers Cause Personal Injury to Children and Others.

It is always best to have adult supervise when there are Sparklers or any other fireworks in use. It is well known that children lack good judgment. This is especially true when children are in awe and distracted by the presence of fireworks and anything that is ignited. Consistent safety precautions and supervision can help prevent serious personal injuries to children from fireworks.

The St. Petersburg Times published an article that provided parents and caretakers regarding the major types of household accidents that result in serious injury and sometimes death. Kids are at home more during summer months than during the school year period. Therefore, parents and caretakers need to be aware of these types of accidents in order to ensure a safer environment for their children during summer vacation.

Water-related injuries:
Drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages 1-4. Putting a safety fence around a pool is great way to prevent a child's access to the pool. However, infants can drown in very small amounts of water, such as a 5-gallon bucket. Thus, parents and babysitters need to be extra careful to not leave children around open areas of water.

Playground Equipment:
The Consumer Federation of America reported that almost 70% of injuries on home playground equipment are due to falls. Playground equipment should be surrounded by surfaces that are much more forgiving than concrete, dirt or grass.

Sun:
The most preventable risk factor for skin cancer is exposure to the sun. Properly dress and shade children in order to protect them from the sun's power ultra-violet rays. Sunscreen application is also mandatory; choose a sunscreen that protects against both, UVA and UVB, rays.

Poisons:
Lock up all toxic chemicals and medications located within your home. Keep a Poison Control Center number handy at all times in case a child or adolescent does ingest chemicals.

To read more safety suggestions for children during the summer see Summer safety for children and adolescents.

Mascotte brothers, Duncan Freeman, 10, and Jason McKinney, 12, were presented with lifesaving awards by police and fire officials after the boys ran back into their blazing house to save the lives of their two younger sisters. The awards were signed by Police Chief Steve Allen and Fire Chief Randy Brasher. Brasher said he has never seen such heroism from kids this age in his 23 years as a firefighter. The children were at home with their grandmother, 62, when an electrical fire set the house aflame; the parents were at a grocery store.

Duncan, who will be in fifth grade, rushed through the flames and black smoke to retrieve his sister Lydia Freeman, 5. He carried Lydia out "like a football" so she would not inhale the suffocating smoke. Mandy Freeman, 29, the parents mother was unaware of her boys' heroism until an officer called to tell her about the incident. The family lost their house and everything inside, but not one family member died except for the family's pet guinea pig, Mia.

Electrical fires are fires that are caused by potentially energized electrical equipment and are generally caused by short-circuited machinery or overloaded electrical cables. A basic effective and cheap safety method to avoid these types of fires is to unplug any electrical device when that device is not in use. Also, do not overload power outlets or extension cords. To read more about these young boys' heroism see Brothers rush into home to save younger sisters from house fire.

Children falling from windows and balconies may seem rare but these tragic events occur more frequently then you may think. In fact, falls cause approximately 2.5 million injuries, which require hospital treatment, in children 14 under. Accounting for more than 50% of those falls, are children under the age of 5-years-old. Plus, 80% of these types of accidents occur within the home.

It has been suggested by child experts that a window screen is an insufficient method to protect one’s child from falling out of a window; a child window guard would be the optimal preventative measure.

It is a parent’s primary responsibility to protect and supervise his or her child. However, even the most attentive parent can be distracted. Inevitable distractions coupled with the fact that the majority of falls occur during the time of day when children are most active (e.g., during the hours of playtime) are the main factors to support the installation of a child window guard. These factors present themselves too frequently. A parent can be watching their child, mid-afternoon, and the phone rings. The parent leaves the room to answer the phone and is gone for no more than 10 seconds. Although short in time, this duration is actually long enough to result in a terrible accident. Installing a child window guard would not only shield parents and their children from experiencing a fall, but it would also give an additional sense of security throughout the home; something every family could use. Window guards at homes, schools, day care centers, and other locations where children are present can also protect other children as well. The investment in a proper window guard system is well worth the protection it can provide to children.

To read more about this topic see Child Window Guards.

In Florida, there are swimming pools in virtually every neighborhood. Each swimming pool is a danger zone to small children and those children who are not strong swimmers. Parents, teachers, summer camp counselors, babysitters, day care providers, and other child care providers should recognize that children have poor safety awareness and judgment especially when it comes to swimming pools, lakes, ponds, and other waterways. Swimming pools are "attractive nuisances" that intrigue children and make them explore further even though they are told not to and even though there may be a lack of parental or adult supervision. In a matter of a few seconds, a child can suffer serious personal injuries and even a tragic death as a result of a drowning incident.

In Orange County, Florida, the Orlando Sentinel recently reported that a child was transported to a hospital after being retrieved from a swimming pool. The incident took place in the Pine Hills area of Orange County. Fire Rescue was dispatched to the area and CPR was performed. The child was later taken to and treated at Arnold Palmer Children's Hospital. See Small Child Rushed to Arnold Palmer Children's Hospital After Being Pulled from Swimming Pool.

A personal injury to a child from a drowning incident is one too many especially if the drowning incident could have been prevented. Make sure to fence and appropriate secure all swimming pool areas.

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 Spring and Summer months, children enjoy sports and just playing outside. Typically, a child has fun and returns home tired, happy, and safe. At times, a child can suffer serious personal injuries and even death when they come into contact with power lines, generators, and other electrical equipment. Because of the true dangers of power lines, generators and other electrical equipment, it is important for power companies, landowners, schools, and government entities to make sure that safety measures are put in place especially for children. Fences, locks, and signage are basic measures that should be taken to properly secure the equipment. Children often times lack good safety awareness and judgment. Dangerous electrical equipment may appear more as a piece of playground equipment to a child. Because of this, it foreseeable that a child would touch or play with equipment and power lines that could cause serious personal injury and wrongful death. As such, safety measures should be put in place. The price of safety equipment is minimal as compared with the physical, emotional, and financial expense of dealing with a serious child personal injury resulting from electrocution. You can read more about the dangers of electrical equipment, electrocution, and safety measures regarding the same at Springtime Power Line Safety. and at Rocky Mountain Power Safety Tips.

Common baby and infant items like a drop side crib can be dangerous and sometimes deadly to children. The Consumer Product Safety Commission reported that over 30 children died as a result of suffocation or strangulation related to drop side cribs. These drop side cribs make it easier for adults and caregivers to get a child into and out of a crib. Unfortunately, the design of some of these cribs leads to serious personal injuries and in some cases wrongful death. You can read more about this topic at Drop Side Cribs Have Killed At Least 32 Children in 9 Years - Orlando Sentinel.

Holidays are a time for family run, recreation, and sports. . . . They are also a time in which child suffer injuries ranging from minor child personal injuries (cuts, scratches, and minor bruises) to significant child personal injuries (fractures, brain injury, and death). A study completed by the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio studied data from approximately 100 emergency room departments to determine the number and frequency of injuries resulting in emergency room treatment during holiday time periods. The study reported 5.7 million child holiday related injuries during the time period from 1997 - 2006. You can read more about this study at Labor Day Tops List of Holiday Related Child Personal Injuries.

When children are out of school or formal supervised activities, parents should be diligent in their supervision of children. It is well known that many children lack safety awareness and often times have poor safety judgment when engaged in recreational and sports activities.

While not all child personal injuries can be avoided since accidents do happen, we should all do all part to supervise children and step in when there is a potentially dangerous situation or activity engaged in by children.

In Florida, we enjoy great weather virtually year round. In most neighborhoods, you will see trampolines which can be great fun for children. Unfortunately, trampolines are also the site of serious personal injuries to children. While not all injuries can be prevented, following some basic safety tips can help reduce the number and severity of Florida trampoline related child personal injuries. A good article was posted at the
website - www.kidstoycollection.com. The following tips were suggested:

1. Provide adult supervision while the children on on the trampoline;

2. Inspect the frame and springs and make sure that the trampoline pad is the right fit and style for the trampoline;

3. Limit play on the trampoline to one child at a time;

4. Keep the trampoline away from other areas or objects that may cause a safety issue when playing on the trampoline; and

5. Have a trampoline enclosure in place.

Parent, child care providers, and others should provide child with supervision and safe equipment. Supervision and safety can prevent many child personal injuries.

In Clearwater, Florida, a family is thankful for the incessant barking of the family dog - Scooter - a 1 year of Shih Tzu. While the family was sleeping, a car caught on fire. The fire later spread to the attic. Scooter began barking and did not stop. He successfully alerted the family who escaped from the burning house. Fortunately, no one suffered personal injuries in this fire. A family dog can be a great benefit to the family. In this case, Scooter acted as a fire alarm. The story posted by the Associated Press did not report whether the house had a smoke detectors / fire alarm system in place. While dogs are great, a smoker detector / fire alarm system would be a bit more reliable in alerting a family as to a fire. If you do not have smoke detectors in your home, have them installed. If you have smoke detectors in the home, check and replace the batteries frequently. Congratulations Scooter on a job well done! You can read more about this story at Florida Family Escapes Burning Home Thanks to Family Dog - Scooter.

Are Pit Bulls dangerous to infants? The answer to this question will depend on who you ask. Every dog, like every person, is different. Is is fair to spotlight a breed of dog like a Pit Bull as dangerous? Again, it would depend who you ask. In the news and media, there seems to be frequent stories about child suffering serious personal injuries and even death after being bit / attacked by a Pit Bull. One such incident took place in New Port Richey, Florida. It was reported that a 7 day old infant was mauled to death by a Pit Bull. The incident took place during a time period that the mother was sleeping near by. What was it that triggered this aggression in this dog? What the dog aggressive in the past? Is there something about the scent of a baby or the the crying of baby? Whatever the particular facts of this case are, a child died and a family and community are in mourning. People should keep in mind that dogs are animals. As such, they are unpredictable even with no history of aggression or problems. You can read more about this story at 7 Day Old New Port Richey, Florida Child Mauled by Pit Bull.

In Florida and other States, children are victims of accidental shootings. Young children are very curious and do not understand the real danger of guns. In Fort Myers, one such child (Ian Heath Allen) recently shot himself. Accidents do happen. Then again, accidents can be prevented with due diligence when it comes to gun safety, gun locks, and gun storage. The accidental shooting death of a child is a tragic loss for the family and community. Hopefully, others reading this story will have sympathy for the family. In addition, gun owners should take notice and exercise all reasonable and necessary measures to protect young children who lack safety awareness and good judgment. You can read more about this story at 2 Year Old Accidentally Shoots Himself in Fort Myers, Florida.

A Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report indicates that children 4 and younger constitute a high risk group for traumatic brain injury (TBI). A TBI can result from a sudden blow, trauma, or jolt to the brain. TBI injuries account for approximately 1/3 of all injury or accident related deaths in the United States. For teenagers ranging from the ages of 15 to 19, the mechanism of the injury or the TBI is an automobile accident. For small children, a TBI can result from a fall at home or on a playground. If a child has suffered a TBI, timely medical treatment and intervention is essential. Signs or symptoms that a child has suffered a TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) include the following:

drowsiness that is sudden;
problems being alert;
problems recognizing places or people well known the child;
irritability or whining;
numbness;
vomiting; and
neck pain.

Of course, some of the above symptoms can be merely related to the child's mood or lack of sleep. This makes it even more difficult in many instances for parents to timely recognize and respond to the symptoms of a TBI. If there has been an incident or a change in your child, consult with your pediatrician or other health care provider for a proper and timely diagnosis.

You can read more about traumatic brain injuries at CDC Report - Traumatic Brain Injuries - Risk to Children.

In Port St. Lucie, Florida, a teen recently died after being electrocuted while trimming trees. Matthew Gamble, age 19, was trimming trees when his ladder slipped some how which, in turn, made contact with the power line. His father later freed the ladder away from the power line while his son was dangling from a harness. It appears that Matthew took some safety precautions by using a ladder and a harness. This is truly a sad story and a sad end for a young man. It is also a reminder for children and adults alike of the dangers of power lines especially when doing yard work or tree trimming. You can read more about this story at Teen Dies From Electrocution Related Injuries Trimming Trees in Port St. Lucie, Florida. The incident was reported by the St. Lucie County Fire District.

The Florida Poison Information Center, located on the campus of Shands Jacksonville Medical Center at the University of Florida, is a twenty-four hour resource for Florida parents to protect their children. The center serves forty two Florida counties and the Virgin Islands and fields around sixty seven thousand calls each year.

All emergency calls are answered by specialists such as nurses, pharmacists, or physicians trained in the latest poison assessment and management methods. All specialists must pass a national exam to earn the certification required to answer the phones.

According to experts at the center, nine out of every ten calls they receive involve a child under the age of six. The most common causes of poisoning for children are cosmetics and other personal care products, household cleaners, medical ointments and medications. Thanks to the hotline, nine out of ten callers can resolve the issue at home and avoid a trip to the hospital. Overall child deaths from poisoning have been reduced eighty percent in the last fifty years.

Parents, grandparents, babysitters or others who may have a child present in their home need to inspect their home for poisonous materials very carefully. Most people do not think of cosmetics as poisonous, but they can be very attractive to young children and harmful if swallowed.

The Florida Poison Information Center is a wonderful resource for Jacksonville parents and child caregivers. The service can be reached at (800) 222-1222.

Read more about possible poisons and the efforts of the Florida Poison Information Center at Poison control: Jacksonville's busy center.

At a home in Northeast Jacksonville, several children gathered recently for a child’s birthday party. The children were playing outside the home when witnesses say they heard a single gunshot. An unidentified two year old girl was hit by the gunfire.

A resident of the home, Charlene Johnson, reported that there were several children playing outside at the time, and wasn’t sure if anyone had been injured at first. When it was discovered that the two year old girl had been hit, her parents rushed her to Shands Jacksonville Medical Center.

According to Sergeant John Gay of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, aggravated battery unit, it is not clear if the girl was hit more than once, but she is expected to recover. Neither the motive for the shooting nor the intended target is known at this point. Police are still investigating the incident.

It is scary to think that someone would fire off shots in the direction of a group of young defenseless children right here in our own city. It is fortunate that the girl will be all right, but she will certainly carry emotional and physical scars from this tragic event throughout her life.

You can read more of the details of this story at Drive-by shooting wounds 2-year-old girl in Jacksonville.

If your child has been injured, please contact our firm for child injury legal counsel.

Two year old Serenity Bergey was found dead in September of 2007, her head wedged between the mattress and the drop railing of her broken Simplicity brand crib. Two days later, the United States government issued a recall of nearly 1 million cribs; several other children were already believed to have been asphyxiated by defective drop-sided cribs made by Simplicity, Inc.

Even though Serenity’s death was ruled an accident at the time, Florida detectives never believed that her death was accidental. The child’s home was dirty and full of drug paraphernalia, and her supposedly defective crib was broken and held together by duct tape. In 2008, detectives sought to charge the girl's mother, Connie Bergey, with aggravated manslaughter charges, but prosecutors declined to take the case due to the lack of evidence. Now a witness has come forward with new information that is allowing detectives to pursue criminal charges against Serenity’s mother.

Ms. Bergey’s lawyers have denied that she did anything wrong. Ms. Bergey is suing Simplicty, Inc., which has gone out of business, and Wal-Mart, where she purchased the crib. Read more about the recall of Simplicty cribs and the death of Serenity Bergey at Investigation reopened into toddler death that led to crib recall.

If your child has been injured by a defective product, please contact our law firm for child injury legal counsel.

Ryan Gooding, of Palm Springs, Florida and friend saw a science experiment on YouTube.com that looked interesting to them, and decided to try to do the experiment on their own. The experiment was creating a rocket out of a plastic soda bottle using vinegar and baking soda.

But when Ryan and his friend were ready to launch the rocket, the bottle accidentally exploded in Ryan’s face, causing chemical burns, lacerations, a broken nose and temporary blindness in one eye. Ryan was hospitalized. Unfortunately, the family’s health insurance policy lapsed two days before the accident took place, and now his mother is trying to figure out how to pay the hospital bills for her son’s care.

Experiments and entertainment on TV and the Internet often look very tempting to young kids, who do not have a fully-developed sense of caution when it comes to dangerous activities. Parents need to help their children understand that mimicking stunts and experiments performed by professionals is dangerous and could get them hurt. The news story did not point out the link to the YouTube.com video Ryan was watching, but one can only hope that it had an appropriate warning for children not to try the experiment at home without supervision.

Read more about Ryan and his family’s plight at Child injured recreating YouTube experiment.