Florida Child Injury Lawyer Blog

A Jacksonville, Florida Daycare owner, David James Hart, has been arrested and charged with lewd and lascivious molestation on a victim 12-16 years old, sexual battery on a victim younger than 12, and assault. Parents of some of the children who attend the A+ Just for Kids Academy on Crown Point Road in Mandarin, Florida are in shock.

One parent reported that her kids absolutely loved Hart, and that he seemed very friendly and caring and knew all of the parents and kids by name. She has been taking her children to the daycare center for three years, and now is devastated at the news of Hart’s alleged actions and very worried for her children.

Another daycare owner, Charles Schramm, who purchased the Just 4 Kids Learning Academy on Losco Road in Mandarin from Hart last summer, says he “never would have believed something like this," about Hart. Just the same, he is going to change the name of his daycare center immediately. He doesn’t want parents getting his business confused with Hart’s.

The Florida Department of Children and Families is working closely with Jacksonville law enforcement in the investigation. The A+ Just for Kids Academy was inspected just last month, and was found to be in full compliance. The center has had only a few minor violations in the past.

Read more details of David James Hart’s arrest at Jacksonville A+ Just 4 Kids Academy Owner Arrested on Molestation Charges.

If your child has been injured by a daycare or child care worker, please contact our law firm for child injury legal counsel.

The federal government is considering a ban on junk food in public schools; the purpose of the ban is to help keep children from becoming obese. The ban would prohibit sugar loaded sodas, candy bars, pastries and salty snacks from being sold on school property. If the ban goes through, all public schools in the United States will have to replace sodas in the machines with healthy alternatives like water and juice.

While the ban may make sugary snack less available to Florida kids, it may also have a huge impact on lucrative vending contracts that Jacksonville, Florida schools districts use to support athletic programs and other extracurricular activities. It is unclear if kids will want to pay as much for healthy alternatives as they do for sodas.

Last year the Duval, Clay and St. Johns county school districts made $2.4 million in extra cash through exclusive beverage contracts with PepsiCo. School officials are very worried that they would not be able to make up such a large loss through other means.

While health officials applaud the efforts to remove junk food from schools, many of the soda companies have put up little resistance, presumably because most of them also bottle juices and waters that they can sell in place of their less healthy beverage options. Read more about Florida school contracts with the major beverage companies and plans to cut back on junk food in campus vending machines at Federal ban on junk food, sodas in schools could impact First Coast deals.

If your child has been injured due to negligence or a defective product, please contact our firm for business legal counsel.

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.

Nineteen year old Jasmine White apparently followed Augustin Duclos and his three week old son, Melvin, home from Shands Jacksonville Medical Center. At the hospital, she presented the man with false credentials and papers saying that she worked for the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF). She informed Duclos that his son was being taken into DCF custody because of suspected child abuse, and that an investigation of the family was underway.

When Duclos contacted authorities several hours later, he found out that there was no such investigation and that his child had been kidnapped. An Amber Alert was issued and the police got started trying to track down the missing child.

According the Jacksonville, Florida Sheriff’s office, they were able to get one fingerprint off of the forged paperwork, and identified Jasmine White from a juvenile arrest for auto theft. Melvin was found with Ms. White ate her mother’s home shortly thereafter. He was unharmed. Ms. White was arrested on several charges including kidnapping, fraudulent use of identification and interference with child custody.Sheriff John Rutherford said that the FBI, the US Marshall’s office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement were instrumental in helping his office find and arrest Ms. White.

Florida Parents should be aware that typically no government official will appear at their door and demand custody of their child for any reason. Any such person should be reported to authorities immediately. Read more about the Duclos family’s ordeal at Abducted Baby Home 'A Miracle From God'.

If you are involved in a child custody matter, please contact our firm for child injury legal counsel.

A new law under consideration in Florida would prohibit children aged sixteen and younger from getting tattoos, and require sixteen to eighteen year olds to be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian when getting “inked.” The law comes after years of complaints from parents whose children got tattoos without permission as the law requires; many of those children have contracted illnesses, infections or scarring from the experience.

Unlike almost every other state, Florida does not regulate tattoo artists. They are not required to have any credentials or special training, even though they are working with human blood. They are not required to wash their hands or use clean needles. Even hair stylists in Florida are required to complete training, pass a test and acquire a license before cutting a child’s hair. That will change if the new law is passed. The pending legislation would require tattoo shops and tattoo artists to be trained, tested and licensed. The training would include a course on blood-borne pathogens and communicable diseases. The Florida Professional Tattoo Artists Guild is in favor of the law. Local tattoo professionals are looking forward to improving the industry’s image.

The new licensing fees for shops and artists are expected to be less than what they currently pay for Florida’s supervisory doctor system, which would be replaced by the new licensing program. Read more about the proposed requirements for Florida Tattoo shops atFlorida tattoo shops focus of proposed regulations.

If your child has been injured by unsafe tattooing techniques, please contact our law firm for child injury legal counsel.

The contamination caused by the closed LCP Chemicals factory in Brunswick, Georgia may be affecting the fish consumed by Jacksonville, Florida residents and their children. Atlantic bottlenose dolphins in the area have been found to have record high levels of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB), acquired by eating contaminated fish.

PCB is an industrial chemical that is believed to be a carcinogen. The director of the marine mammal office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Teri Rowles, said that contamination from the Brunswick site may be mobilized both up and down the east coast as contaminated prey fish move about. Biologists are planning to test the PCB levels of fish found off the Jacksonville coastline. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) will also be conducting a study of Georgian’s who eat local seafood on a regular basis.

The PCB poisoned dolphins had weak immune systems, low thyroid hormones and enzyme build-ups in their livers. Low thyroid activity in children can stunt development and cause fatigue, weakness and later reproductive problems. PCBs are especially hazardous for pregnant women, who might pass the effects of the pollution on to their children. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took over cleanup at the plant after LCP went bankrupt about fifteen years ago. While the most hazardous materials have been cleaned up for a long time, the EPA is still looking at a plan for long term remediation. Read more details of the possible fish contamination along the Jacksonville coastline at Chemical causes high contamination levels in Atlantic dolphins.

A monthly class held in Jacksonville, Florida is aimed at making teens better babysitters. Participants in the class learn many skills for good babysitting, including child safety, first aid, preventing accidents, helping a child who is choking, and determining what constitutes an emergency. They also learn how to feed an infant, change a diaper, burp a baby, and take a child’s temperature. They do not learn CPR because they are considered too young.

Participants also learn discipline techniques, which emphasize using time outs; a child should receive a time out in a special area of the home where there are no toys, and the time out should last one minute for each year of age. The teens also looked at the business side of babysitting, learning how to get jobs, what to charge, and how many children it is safe for them to care for at one time. (The going rate for a babysitter in the Jacksonville, Florida area is $6 per hour, with a $.50 surcharge for each additional child.) Teens are also reminded not to text, talk on the phone or play computer games while caring for children.

After the course, the teens receive a card from the American Red Cross, showing that they are certified in babysitting. They also get a reference handbook and CD to take home with them. The babysitting class is offered about once a month, usually on a day that kids are out of school. For more information about class location, costs and times, visit Baby-sitting class teaches students first aid, safety skills for watching children.

If your child has been injured by a childcare or daycare worker, please contact our law 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.

Former Jacksonville Jaguar, Richard Tylski, and his wife, Jane Tylski, have lost a civil suit filed on behalf of their former foster daughter, Janie. A Florida Judge has ordered the couple to pay $1.2 million in damages to the now ten year old girl, for injuries she suffered at the hands of her foster parents. The Tylskis have denied injuring or abusing Janie.

The civil lawsuit was filed on behalf of the girl by an attorney ad litem, who sought damages in order to help Janie pay for future medical needs and counseling stemming from the abuse. The judge in the case determined that Janie had been abused by the Tylskis for years, and has been permanently disfigured by the abuse. Her injuries included a broken finger and a broken leg. The broken leg may prevent her from growing properly.

The Tylskis had previously faced criminal charges in the matter, but settled the criminal case via plea bargain. Ms. Tylski pleaded guilty and received probation; Richard Tylski’s case was handled through the Florida Department of Corrections pretrial intervention program. Tylski did admit in court two years ago that he had caused visible belt marks on the girl’s skin. You can read more details of the civil trial of Jane and Richard Tylski for child abuse at Former Jag, Wife Must Pay $1.2M In Suit.

If your child has been injured while under another’s care, please contact an attorney at our law firm for child injury legal counsel.

In Florida schools as well as other schools around the nation, special needs and disabled students are unduly and aggressively restrained every day in the classroom. Many child safety advocates argue that in these modern times - child restraints should be limited or eliminated from the classroom. This is especially true when children are physically and emotionally harmed from the unnecessary or overuse of these restraints. Florida State Representative Dorothy Hukill - Republican from Port Orange, Florida is sponsoring a bill that would limit of the use of the public school use of restraints. Hopefully, the bill will pass and measures will be taken in public as well as private schools for the proper education and supervision of disabled and special needs children in the school system. You can read more about this topic at Florida - Limiting the Use of Restraints in the School System.

The Orlando Police Department recently shot and killed a pit bull dog that was deemed to be dangerous by the responding officer. Any time that an officer pulls his or her weapon - it should be a careful decision based on the facts and circumstances as they exist at the time of the shooting. The officer assessed the situation and put down this dog was appeared to be dangerous to the point that the dog put the officers and public at risk. Some dog advocates may argue that there was a more humane way to deal with this animal. Others may argue that the officer prevented serious personal injuries that could have resulted from the unpredictable and seemingly dangerous disposition of this dog. It was reported in the Orlando Sentinel that attempts were first made to capture the dog but these attempts failed. See Pit Bull Attack - Orlando Police Department Shoots and Kills Dangerous Dog.

This shooting follows another recent incident that took place in the Orlando area where a 3 year old was attacked and killed by a dog.

As a parent, it is important to thoroughly check out any child care center where you will be leaving your child. In Florida, the Department of Children and Families childcare licensing staff must inspect and license childcare centers in sixty one out of Florida’s sixty seven counties. Daycare inspection reports are available by visiting the Florida Department of Children and Families’ special website at: www.myflorida.com/childcare. On the website’s “provider search” page you can search by the provider’s name, by the county or even the zip code.

But checking into the center’s licensing status is only the first step. Making a visit to the center is important too. Parents should also keep in mind that religiously affiliated childcare centers may claim religious exemption from licensing. In these cases it is especially important for parents to visit and inspect the center for themselves before leaving their children there.

When checking out childcare center, keep the following tips in mind:

• Check the facility for cleanliness and ensure that there are no hazardous chemicals in reach of children
• Check the bathroom for cleanliness and appropriate paper goods
• Do the children seem happy and well-cared for?
• Do you feel comfortable in the environment?

Checking into the daycare center where your children will be cared for is a smart move that can help protect your children and give you better peace of mind. Get more tips at Web site helps public check on daycare compliance.

If your child has been injured while at daycare, please contact our Jacksonville, Florida area law firm for child injury legal counsel.