Florida Child Injury Lawyer Blog

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.

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.

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.

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.

Last Fourth of July, Edward Weise Jr. helped his eight year old son, Edward Weise III, hollow out a pineapple grenade from World War II and fill it with firecracker powder. For some reason, they were unable to get the grenade to ignite and a family member put it on a shelf in the living room and forgot about it.

But Edward, now nine years old, did not forget about the grenade, and attempted to light it on his own recently. The child’s mother, Anne-Marie Weise, reported that she saw her son playing with a lighter in the kitchen just moments before the explosion. She told him to put it away. Apparently he did not listen to her, and continued to try to light the grenade. The resulting explosion critically injured the boy, who was flown to Tampa General for surgery.

A concerned neighbor called the Department of Children and Families’ abuse hotline to report the incident. The DCF is now looking into the matter. Deputies who searched the family’s home found marijuana in the bedroom Ms. Weise shares with her boyfriend, Larry Busby. According to the Polk County Florida Sheriff’s office there are charges pending but no one has been arrested. You can find out more details of this February fireworks accident at Injured Boy's Father Helped Him Fill Grenade With Firecracker Powder.

Whenever there is a Department of Children and Families investigation or criminal investigation, the family or parents under investigation have the right to defend themselves and hire an attorney. While the news reported the involvement of DCF, the results or disposition of the investigation are pending.

According to a Florida study of childhood obesity, published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, future incidents of heart disease and stroke for obese children increase along with body mass index (BMI). This is true even if other factors, such as high blood pressure, are not present in those individuals during childhood. The study tested children for certain blood abnormalities that predispose an individual to developing cardiovascular disease later in life.

The study adds more evidence to a growing body of research showing that the negative health impacts of obesity start very early in life. In order to protect young people from future health problems, aggressive weight control measures may need to be implemented for children who show a propensity for obesity. Certainly healthier food and more exercise for young children would help all kids grow up healthier and happier.

A child’s weight may also have legal implications for parents. A South Carolina woman recently lost custody of her child and has been charged with criminal child neglect after the child’s doctor reported concerns about his weight to social services. Many states are now also considering the obesity of the children post divorce in modification actions.

Read more Florida childhood obesity study results at Child obesity links to heart disease reinforced.

If your child has been injured due to the negligence of others, please contact our Jacksonville, Florida firm for child injury legal counsel.

Florida children are at risk for contracting respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, for eight months out of every year. While the symptoms of RSV are usually quite mild, the disease claims the life of 4,500 children every year, and hospitalizes 125,000 more. Newborns are especially susceptible to the virus, especially premature babies and those with other health conditions that may weaken their overall immune system.

Nearly every child under the age of two will contract the virus; the symptoms of RSV resemble those of the common cold, and usually last for a week or two. This year, Florida health officials are worried that parents may overlook the signs of RSV, because they are more worried about H1N1 (Swine Flu), or the seasonal flu. Unfortunately, Florida has one of the longest RSV seasons in the nation – eight months or more – due to our warm climate. November and February are the peak months for the illness.

Children’s Hospital in Boston ran a study that showed children with respiratory distress are twice as likely to be diagnosed with RSV as with H1N1. Parents who suspect that their child might be infected with RSV should call their pediatrician for advice. Find more tips and advice on SRV at Toddlers are at risk for respiratory virus.

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

The arrival of thousands of Haitian children in Florida after the recent earthquake in that country has created a huge challenge for the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF). The DCF has been plagued recently with a series of scandals that call into question its ability to handle Florida’s own children, let alone a large influx of injured and orphaned children from another country. George Sheldon, the secretary of the DCF, has acknowledged that the challenge is a big one said that he is ready to meet it head on.

Within a few short weeks after the earthquake in Haiti, the DCF had found shelter for 720 orphans, overseen medical care for 628 evacuees, and distributed $26 million in assistance along with 3,500 teddy bears. Sheldon said the teddy bears may have been the best medicine for most of the frightened children coming off the planes from Haiti.

Longtime critics of the department are hopeful that Sheldon will improve the situation for Florida children as well, who have been left behind by the system in the past. Roy Miller of the Florida Children’s Campaign has applauded Sheldon for addressing the department’s problems rather than trying to cover them up. Read more about what Florida has done for Haitian children at Florida DCF chief ready for a challenge.

A three year old Orlando boy was seriously injured when he was attacked by a neighbor’s dog. The child was reportedly playing with his parents in their yard, when the child’s parents noticed that their family dog was acting out of character.

Soon after, a strange pit bull ran into the yard and bit the child in the face. The family’s dog chased the pit bull off while the parents rushed the child into the house. Deputies who responded to the incident tried to corner the pit bull and were forced to shoot and kill the dog when it attempted to charge them.

The boy was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries including lacerations on head; the child’s father was injured in the attack as well. Neighbors are quite upset that someone would let an aggressive pit bull wander around the neighborhood unattended. Police have still not identified the dog’s owners.

This is not the first time the child was attacked by a dog. The boy had his leg bitten by a dog about a year ago when his family was visiting with friends. You can read more about this story at Boy Seriously Injured In Dog Attack.

A national movement that aims to legislate how doctors, young athletes and coaches deal with concussion injuries is gaining momentum. At this year’s Super Bowl, taking place in Miami, Florida, Governor Charlie Crist will be announcing plans for a national initiative that would encourage all fifty states to adopt concussion legislation modeled after the Zackery Lystedt Law in Washington State. In 2006, Lystedt suffered a debilitating brain injury at the age of thirteen as a result of being allowed to return to the field too quickly after suffering a sports-related concussion.

The Washington law requires that athletes, parents and coaches receive education about the dangers of concussions, that children be removed from the game if they are suspected of having a concussion, and that children must be cleared by a medical doctor before returning to the sport. Oregon, California and Pennsylvania have adopted similar laws.

While no such law has been introduced in the Florida legislature, Crist’s planned comments at the Super Bowl would indicate that one may be soon. Currently the Florida High School Athletic Association advises trainers to follow the guidelines set forth in the sports medicine handbook of the National Federation of State High School Associations. Find out more about the proposed nationwide effort to protect youth athletes from brain injuries at Congressional forum to tackle concussion issue in NCAA, high schools.

Fifteen year old Taylor Garrison recently gave birth to a daughter, Brielle Garrison, in Wellington, Florida. The child suffers from a very rare condition, called Anophthalmia, which results in a lack of ocular tissue.

The doctor on the case, Dr. Lee Friedman, of the Microsurgical Institute, reported that the last time he saw a case of Anophthalmia was twenty two years ago. He further stated that the disorder is not hereditary, but rather is caused by a sporadic mutation. The disorder occurs in one out of every one hundred thousand births, and its cause is unknown.

The Garrison family will now have to consult with a large number of doctors, surgeons and specialists who will try to ensure that the disease does not cause the baby’s face to be deformed as she grows. The family and doctors hope that more families of children suffering from the rare disorder will come forward so that more medical attention will be focused on the matter.

The young mother has vowed to treat Brielle just like any other child. You can read more about this unusual disorder and the Florida family who is dealing with it at A Rare Condition Causes Baby in Florida To Be Born Without Eyes.

A twenty seven year old mother accidentally scalded her five month old son with hot bath water. Apparently, the woman was drawing a bath for the child when she saw a spider in the bathtub; when she attempted to wash the spider down the drain, it jumped out of the tub and onto the child’s arm. She then tried to rinse the spider off of the child by putting the child directly under the running water, not realizing that the water was too hot. The child was brought to the local fire station, where he was found to have second degree burns on his body.

Investigators have determined that the incident was an accident. Other family members at the home told investigators that they were not aware that the hot water heater was set so high. A Pasco County, Florida sheriff’s deputy watched the child’s grandfather turn the heat down. The child has been released from the hospital and is recovering at home with his family.

This unfortunate accident drives home the point that parents need to be vigilant to protect their children at all times. Read more about this unfortunate accident at Mother Trying To Kill Spider Scalds Baby.

If a child has been injured by someone else’s negligence, a Florida Child Injury Lawyer can advise you as to your child's legal rights and the laws pertaining to damages / compensation for these injuries.

Tonuya Rainey, of Miramar Florida is a mother to eight children. Reportedly, when her sixteen year old daughter became pregnant, Ms. Rainey did not want her to have the child, fearing that it would cause her daughter to miss out on a lot of things. Since she did not have the money to pay for an abortion for her daughter, Ms. Rainey gave the twenty four week pregnant woman pills to induce labor. Ms. Rainey’s daughter claims that the child was born alive, Ms. Rainey claims that the child was stillborn. They both admit that Ms. Rainey then discarded the body in the trash.

Ms. Rainey pleaded guilty to seven charges, including child abuse, termination of a pregnancy and practicing medicine without a license. Her attorney asked the judge for leniency, saying that Ms. Rainey took these actions out of a misguided attempt to provide her daughter with a better life. The Judge sentenced Ms. Rainey to two years of house arrest and five years of probation.

Read more details of this story at Tonuya Rainey Avoids Jail After Forcing Daughter to Have Abortion; Dumped Boy in Trash.

On Saturday, nine year old Joseph Vanhouse spent the day with friends at the Gasparilla kid’s parade and then joined six other kids for a sleepover at a friend’s home. Sometime in the early hours of Sunday morning, an SUV driven by a teenager crashed through the side of the home where the children were sleeping. The SUV struck a car parked in the driveway before hitting the house, launching the other car into the side of the home as well.

Joseph Vanhouse was sleeping on the couch in the living room when it was struck by one of the vehicles, and the child was sent flying about fifteen feet onto a tile floor. He was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital and is being treated for a fractured skull. According to the homeowner, Ray Dunnings, the SUV crashed all the way through the home, taking out a back wall. Dunnings reported that a young girl had been sleeping in a chair that was directly in the path of the SUV, but had moved sometime before the accident occurred.

The driver of the car was a seventeen year old boy, who according to police was speeding and ran a stop sign. Police also report that there were two other teenage passengers in the car who attempted to flee the scene. Police also have reason to suspect that the teenagers were under the influence of a controlled substance. Police are waiting for toxicology reports to come back before filing any criminal charges against the driver. Read more details of the accident that injured a nine year old Florida boy at 9-year-old's skull fractured after SUV slams into home.

If you live in Florida and your child has been injured in an accident, please contact our Jacksonville, Florida area law firm for child injury legal counsel.

Samantha Burton of Tallahassee, Florida was twenty five weeks pregnant when she began to go into premature labor, and went to the hospital on the advice of her doctor. The hospital wanted to keep her on bed rest until her delivery, some three months away. When Burton indicated that she wanted to go home to care for her two toddlers, the hospital obtained a court order to force Ms. Burton to submit to forced bed rest any medical care deemed necessary to sustain the life of her unborn child. For three days, Burton was confined to her bed at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital against her will. At the end of three days, Ms. Burton suffered a miscarriage and was released from the hospital.

She has now enlisted the aid of the Florida American Civil Liberties Union to strike down the court order that took away her power to make her own medical decisions. Burton’s lawyers have argued that the Leon County Court, which issued the original order, has set a “dangerous precedent.” The ACLU is arguing that a woman does not give up her right to determine the course of her own medical care when she becomes pregnant. Ms. Burton’s lawyer has accused the state of acting unconstitutionally by infringing on Ms. Burton’s rights to privacy and liberty.

The Florida Attorney General’s Office has argued that the State of Florida exercised due process by intervening to save the life of Ms. Burton’s unborn child. Read more of the details of this case at Pregnant Woman Fights Court-Ordered Bed Rest.

If you or your child has been injured due to medical malpractice, please contact our Jacksonville, Florida area law firm for child injury lawyer.

South Florida may emerge as the main hub for treating injured victims of the recent earthquake in Haiti. Injured children and adults have poured into south Florida hospitals and the Homestead Air Reserve base, and many more are expected to arrive over the coming days. The injured include mostly United States and Haitian citizens. According to the United States' State Department, nearly forty five thousand United States residents live in Haiti, and many more visit there as missionaries or tourists.

Florida Senator Bill Nelson has called on more Florida hospitals to open their doors to victims of the disaster. He stated that Florida’s children’s hospitals are uniquely suited to help the critically injured children. It is not at all clear how many more refugees from the disaster will come to Florida.

The State of Florida and its hospitals should be commended for stepping in quickly to aid those in need. You can read more about Florida’s mission to help injured children and other victims of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti at Injured victims starting to arrive.

In a recent opinion-editorial (op-ed) piece on Jacksonville.com, a Jacksonville, Florida father shared his feelings about the alternative therapies his family pursued for their Autistic child. The man’s Autistic son has been through several alternative therapies for Autism, including vitamin supplements, B12 injections, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, anti-fungals, and other experimental, or alternative, Autism therapies. He reported that his family spent four years and thousands of dollars on what he termed an “uncontrolled, flawed experiment.”

He believes that the Defeat Autism Now! group and doctors and therapists who subscribe to its methods should be approached with caution. Doctors who are the foremost experts in the field of Autism and represent some of the most esteemed medical institutions in the world frequently criticize the group for promoting therapies that have no scientific basis. The man reports that his family decided to cease all experimental therapies several months ago and his son is progressing without any regression. He encourages families to seek therapies for their Autistic children that are based on sound medical evidence.

You can find out more about this family’s path to help their autistic son at Guest column: Be wary of alternative therapies for autism.

Many Florida children are dealing with very adult issues – including depression, anxiety and other psychiatric illnesses. Florida therapists, counselors and psychiatrists are reporting that children are being diagnosed at younger and younger ages for these illnesses. That has raised serious questions regarding giving powerful psychotropic medications to young children. This is especially a concern for children in the Florida foster care system, where children are prescribed psychotropic drugs at a rate that is higher than that for the general population.

Some professionals charge that children are being given these drugs as an easy fix to get them to behave, instead of being given appropriate structure and guidance. They worry that the drugs may have unknown side effects with long term use. Others disagree, pointing to the fact that children are placed under a great deal more stress at home and are subject to other issues that were not as prevalent ten years ago. They say that children need the drugs in order to concentrate in school and succeed in life.

The decision whether or not to put a young child on medication is not an easy one. Parents should make sure that they educate themselves on the options available so that they can make an informed decision.

Read more about how the state of Florida is dealing with childhood mental illness at Child's suicide raises medication questions.

If your child has been injured by inappropriate medication or poor medical advice, please contact our Jacksonville, Florida law firm for child injury legal counsel.