The Miami Herald reports that a 51 year old Florida women named Pamela Bodenheimer accidentally drove her SUV over a 22 month old boy named Brady Hutto. Ms. Bodenheimer told the investigators that she did not see the boy. So far, no formal charges have been filed. According to the Titusville Police, it appears that the incident was a tragic accident with no indication that alcohol was involved.
The tragic death of this child is a reminder of the need to have laws mandating back-up sensors and cameras on every vehicle, especially SUVs and minivans. Ms. Bodenheimer was driving a sport utility vehicle when she ran over the boy. Sadly, every year thousands of children and adults are injured or killed as a result of vehicles backing up over them. Often these back up accidents involve children under the age of 5 and elderly persons over 60 years of age.
Our Miami pedestrian car accident lawyers hope that no other child will ever be harmed by a back up accident. Since all vehicles have blind spots, we recommend the following safety tips to keep your children safe:
1. Properly supervise children at all times, especially if motor vehicles are present.
2. Teach children not to play in, under, or around cars or trucks.
3. Always assume children are present and carefully and slowly back out.
4. Do not make your driveway a "playground."
5. Do not let children play with your car. Vehicles are not toys.
One of the saddest aspects of my job as a Florida injury attorney is when I am called upon to represent a child innocently injured in a preventable accident. Florida playground and recess injuries are common and often involve inadequate ground padding, poorly maintained equipment or lack of supervision. Surprisingly, one of the most common playground injuries occurs when the child is literally in the lap of an adult. "Sliding board injuries" happen when an adult is holding a child wearing rubber soled shoes, using a typical playground slide. As the two are going down the slide, the child's foot gets caught and stuck on the side of the slide and twists; causing a spiral fracture of the tibia or lower leg bone.
This kind of bone break is very painful and requires at least six weeks in a cast and sometimes surgery and physical therapy. Depending on the age and location of the break, it can also leave the kid with a lifelong deformity. Understandably, parents also suffer when this happens as they are often racked with guilt and subjected to anger from the other parent for injuring their child.
These types of playground accidents are not uncommon, According to a recent published study at the Winthrop University Hospital in New York, evaluating 11 months of pediatric injuries treated at an emergency room, nearly 14 percent of all children treated for broken legs sustained the injury while using a playground slide.
Fortunately, this kind of children's injury is completely preventable, according to the brilliant Dr. Edward S. Holt, M.D. an orthopedic surgeon at Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis, Maryland. The best way to prevent this kind of injury is to simply allow the child to slide down by himself. Our personal injury lawyers in Miami strongly recommend that children always have adult supervision and specific instructions on how to safely use slides and other playground equipment. Another good option, is to simply place toddlers at the slide's halfway point and have the adult standing next to the slide as the child makes it to the bottom. Remember to always inspect the landing area to ensure that is clear of debris, sharp objects and has padding. Lastly, we suggest that children should remove their shoes, especially if they have rubber soles, before riding down any slide. If you decide to take your child down a slide on your lap, make sure the child's legs don't touch the sides or sliding surface.
Since most adults are unaware of the danger of sliding board injuries, we hope that Florida schools and parks will consider posting warning signs. We are devoted to the safety of Florida's children and do not want to see another child's leg broken in a preventable accident.
Hundreds of American children are needlessly injured or killed every year from being backed over. Often the driver is a loved one who was unable to visualize the child due to the vehicle's blind-spot. According to Kids and Cars, a not for profit group dedicated to improving child safety around cars, 50 kids are backed over every week, resulting in two fatalities.
Knowing that two children are buried each week by their families, for what I consider a largely preventable tragedy, simply is not enough motivation for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to mandate that all cars be equipped with rear view cameras. In fact, the NHSTA estimates that adding back up cameras would save 100 lives per year and prevent more than 7,000 injuries. But the agency, when faced with a deadline to come up with mandatory rules on back up cameras, dropped the ball and "deferred."
As a Hialeah children's accident lawyer and safety advocate I find it impossible to accept that our government cannot do more to protect us from the danger of blind zones. A blind zone is an area either behind or to the side of a vehicle that the driver cannot visualize from the driver's seat. Blind zones are especially dangerous in larger vehicles like SUVs, pickups and minivans. Sadly, these are the types of vehicles most often used to transport children.
Blind zones are measured by placing a 28 inch traffic cone behind the vehicle and utilizing drivers both 5 feet 8 inches and 5 feet one inch to determine how far the cone has to be moved before the top can be seen through the rear window. A 2011 Ford Fiesta SE sedan requires 17 feet and 27 feet, respectively. That means that a child standing or playing behind the vehicle, who is less than 28 inches tall, would not be visible until the vehicle has moved back 17 to 27 feet! To see how your car or truck compares Consumer Report's Back-Up Car and Truck Visibility Study.
My proposal, I think will both save lives and improve the economy, mandate that all cars on the road be equipped with a back up camera today. Too expensive? Employ the thousands of out of work auto workers to assemble a simple pen-sized wireless cameras that can be easily installed at any gas station, DMV or by a soccer mom. It will put both Americans to work and save lives. Do you hear me President Obama and Governor Scott? And as an added bonus, Governor, just imagine how much less PIP insurance we will use if we can just eliminate back-up car accidents in Florida?
Florida Statute §316.613 is the Florida Child Safety Seat Law and it has very specific requirements regarding the proper use of child restraints and seat-belts.
Florida law requires that all kids under 5 years of age be restrained no matter where they are seated in a car or truck. For children under 3 years of age, they must be secured in a child safety seat or in the car or truck manufacturer's integrated child safety seat. Volvo makes an excellent integrated car seat in it SUV models.
For children ages 4 - 5, they may travel in a vehicle if seated in a separate child carrier, or an integrated child-safety seat. If, however, the seat belt does not fit the safety seat correctly, a booster seat must be used. We recommend that children weighing approximately 40-80 pounds and under 4'9" tall should also ride in a booster seat.
Infants must always ride facing to the rear until they are at least one year old and weigh more than 20 pounds. It is important that when placing a child in a rear-facing car-seat, the infant be in a semi-upright at an angle of no more than 45 degrees. All forward-facing car seats should but a child sitting in an upright position.
Violation of Florida's Child Restraint Law carries a fine of $60 and 3 points on your driving record. In lieu of the penalty specified of money and points, the driver who violates Florida's child seat law can with the Judge's approval, participate in a child restraint safety program. After successful completion of the program, the points and costs may be waived at the Judge's discretion.
We recommend that children 12 and under always ride in the back seat as this has been proven to cut the risk of death by 36%. It simply is not worth the risk to put your child in the front seat, no matter how much they want to sit up front.
As a Ft. Lauderdale car crash attorney I stress that one should never place a child in a child safety seat in the front seat of a car or truck that is equipped with a passenger air bag. In those situations, always place the child in the the back seat. No matter where you put your child if you do not install the seat correctly you may be putting your child at risk. There are a number of installation services like CarFit Florida that can help make sure that you have installed the seat correctly.
A a Florida child safety lawyer dedicated to the prevention of childhood injuries I recommend that parents consider the following 5 Halloween Safety Tips and discuss them with your kids before allowing them to go trick or treating.
1. Treats: Warn your kids that they are not permitted to eat any candy until a parent has examined the wrappers to make sure that they have not been tampered with.
2. Costumes: Make sure that your children's costumes are flame retardant and visible at night. Strategically placed reflective tape on costumes and bags will make the difference in visibility.
3. Masks: Make sure that your child can see and breath without restriction.
4. Choosing safe houses. If you are unfamiliar with your neighborhood or unsure of its safety, take your child to a shopping mall or community center. Under no circumstances should they be permitted to enter a stranger's home for any reason.
5. Make sure that knives, swords, and weapons are soft and unable to cause an injury if your child trips or decides to use it to fence with another Zorro.
I do not think that children should be permitted to trick or treat without adult supervision. My daughter is now 12 years old and I am sure she would rather that I stay home and pass out candy to the "kids" that come to our house. Unfortunately, Miami is just not a safe place for an unsupervised 12 year old girl.
If you are expecting trick or treaters coming to your home, our Key West trip and fall law firm suggests that you clear your lawn and driveway of any tripping hazards. In addition, we recommend that you provide ample lighting so that first time visitors do not trip or fall on your property.
Florida Statute 768.075 states that property owners have an obligation to maintain their property in such a manner so that so that vistors are not injured. This applies to "trespasser" who reasonably believe they have an invitation to be on the property. Therefore, as a Florida premise liability lawyer, I recommend that you make your home as safe as possible and leave the haunted houses to the professionals. Setting traps that will cause sudden or unexpected things to jump out to scare visitors might create a hidden danger under Florida law.
If you simply do not want Halloween visitors, I suggest that you post "no trespassing signs" and remove any Halloween props from your home that would provide someone with the belief that they have been invited on to your property.
Yes it is back to school time. For me as a parent and Florida child injury attorney, turning my kids over from 9-5 to someone else after a long hot Miami summer can seem like a blessing. Yes, I attended open house for my son's fourth grade class and I marveled at the technological advancements his class had. PowerPoint projectors, smart boards and the class even has its own blog. But what all the parents heard repeatedly from the administration was that a lack of funding was preventing the school from doing this our that. It got me thinking about playground safety and what dangers may lurk, not just for my child, but for the many who leave their children in the hands of the underfunded school boards in our country on a daily basis.
Our Broward personal injury attorneys recommend that all parents inspect their children's school playgrounds at least once or twice per school year, especially considering the playground's surface and equipment. Concrete, asphalt or dirt is still commonly used and, according to the National Program for Playground Safety, nearly 70% of all playground injures are related to falls on hard surfaces. The recommended surfaces are hardwood mulch, pea gravel, sand, rubber mats and rubber tiles.
1. Are there any broken slides or swings?
2. What age groups will be using the equipment at the same time?
3. Any rusted or exposed S-hooks?
4. What is the child-to-supervisor ratio?
5. Who is responsible for maintaining and repairing the playground?
6. Is there a defibrillator nearby and who is trained to operate it?
7. Are children encouraged to apply sunblock when outdoors between 10 AM-3 PM.
8. Are children encouraged to desanitize their hands after returning to class?
April 25-29, 2012 is National Playground Safety Week and gives families and schools an opportunity to focus on making playgrounds safer. We are dedicated to keeping children safe and urge all families not to wait till April to inspect, educate and monitor their children about playground safety.
Should a child be injured in Florida due to the negligence of a public school for failing to provide a safe or supervised recess or for faulty or poorly maintained equipment, the family will have to sue a Florida public school pursuant to Florida Statute Section 768.28. Generally speaking this law protects and insulates the School Board from the responsibility of fully compensating an injured child by limiting the amount of the total damages paid, including medical expenses, loss of income, disability and disfigurement to $200,000. Any claim against a Florida school must be made in writing within 3 years of the date of the accident or 2 years in the case of death.
Claimants are also required to provide the agency and Department of Financial Services the injured child's' date and place of birth, social security number or federal identification number and list the name, court case number of any amount the child may owe to the state amongst other very specific details. If your child has been injured at a school, it is very important that you seek competent and experience legal assistance to navigate the confusing and tricky statutory compliance of Florida's Section 768.28.
The Florida High School Athletics Association governs high-school sports across the state of Florida. Our Florida head injury lawyers are pleased to note that the FHSAA is implementing new protocols to protect student athletes from returning to the game after sustaining a suspected concussion.
The new guideline requires all student athletes who play on interscholastic teams in Miami-Dade and Broward counties to take a base-line neurospyschological evaluation or cognitive test before the season begins. This will help coaches, doctors, parents and players monitor and evaluate any head injury.
The goal is to keep injured players off the field until they have been fully evaluated and have recovered. This is particularly important as successive or multiple concussions can have a devastating effect on young brains. Brain injuries, like concussions, have been known to cause profound changes in personality, memory and interpersonal relationships.
The test being used in Miami is called "Immediate Post Concussion Cognitive Testing" (ImPACT) and is administered on-line. While the test generally takes thirty minutes to administer, a complete and thorough neurological exam is also required before a player can be cleared.
Currently, the program is designed for football, soccer, volleyball, wrestling, softball and lacrosse. According to a recent Miami Herald article, 2,800 students have taken the ImPACT test so far.
Since most parents and school coaches are not trained to recognize the subtle signs and symptoms of a concussion, we are concerned that injuries are often not diagnosed. The classic signs of a concussion are:
1. Dazed or confused appearance.
2. Moving clumsily.
3. Slow to respond to questions.
4. Loss of concentration.
5. Strange or unusual behavior.
6. Memory loss before, during and after the event.
Our Monroe county children's injury law firm believe that the test should be administered to every student enrolled in public school as it could be used to identify children who have already suffered some form of concussion or brain injury so far undiagnosed or that occurred outside of school sports. In addition, it would place the student and coaches on notice that special precautions need to be put in place such as helmets, closer monitoring or abstaining from the sport entirely.
I got into a car accident the other day. It was pretty serious and I was taken to the hospital. I was driving; my sister was in the passenger seat. My son was in the back seat with my niece.As a result of this accident, I had back survey and my sister had her spleen removed.
We are not the suing kind of people. The lady who hit us has Allstate, and when I got home, waiting for me was a check for $50,000.00 and some papers I was asked to sign.
I called the number on the letter and the Allstate lady told me that $50,000.00 was the most they could pay and I should just keep the money and sign the paper.
I asked her if I needed a lawyer and she told me "no."
Why do I need a lawyer if she already sent me the check?
Thanks,
Hurting Mom in Miami
Dear Hurting Mom:
Thanks for your email. Do you need a lawyer? Yes. Because insurance companies have two desires. One is to pay you as little as possible and the other is to keep you away from an experienced and skilled Florida car crash lawyer.
Insurance company adjusters are not lawyers and they are not your lawyers. They get paid by the insurance company to not pay you. That is why they are called adjusters. In your case, you may be entitled to far more money than is being offered.
I reviewed the Florida Traffic Crash Report for your accident, and it appears that the driver that hit you is not the owner of the car she was driving. In other words, this might mean that there is an additional policy out there. In fact, there may even be additional insurance policies on top of the one being "tendered" to you such as an excess or umbrella policy.
I noticed that the driver of the car that hit you, is elderly. The elderly in my experience are more likely to have and protect their assets with insurance coverage. Due to the significance of your injuries, I recommend that an asset search be performed that could tell you if they have additional property, cars or real estate.
Secondly, you have uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. Most Florida insurance companies require that the uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage be put on notice of your claim and allow you accept the policy of the at-fault driver. This is called waiving subrogation. If you do not do this, you may have ruined your chances of obtaining more coverage. The complex rules for uninsured/under insured motorist claims can be found in Florida Statutes §627.727.
Your children may have claims for medical bills and for injuries. They should be examined and cleared by experienced pediatricians before you end up inadvertently releasing any claims they may have.
The release you showed me does not exclude claims you may have against any of the doctors who treated you for the accident. Since you had complex orthopedic surgery, a medical error may not be readily apparent. If you were to sign the release that you showed me, you may give up any claims you might have against these doctors in the future.
An investigation should also be made regarding whether the lady who hit you was driving in the course and scope of her employment. Despite being elderly, she may still be working and a commercial policy might provide you with more coverage.
Lastly, since you were in the hospital for so long, both the hospital and your health insurance may have claims attached to your settlement. For your sister, Medicaid will have a claim. These claims are called liens and require repayment before you or any lawyer can get paid from the case.
As a Miami children's safety and injury lawyer I am amazed at the number of products recalled by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission every month. But like the toothless FDA, the CPSC does no testing or certification of products before they are sold to consumers. Nor does the CPSC recommend brands that are deemed to be the safest. Since 1972 the CPSC has been charged with protecting the public from injury or death from thousands of products. Until last year CPSC did not have the legal authority to require a manufacturer to recall a product. Now manufacturers that violate a mandatory recall notice could face a penalty of up to $100,000. Yet, there is no obligation by a manufacturer or retailer to return a consumer's money if their product is recalled.
Our dangerous product injury lawyers recommend that if you learn of a product that has been recalled that you immediately stop using it and contact the CPSC's toll-free hotline 800-638-2772 and also fill out his online form. While a recalled product does not necessarily mean that other products manufactured by the same company are unsafe, I recommend that you either stop using them or use them only with extreme caution.
In addition to checking the CPSC website frequently, consumers should subscribe to their email subscription link to get same-day notifications.
The CPSC relies upon consumers to report unsafe products, yet many consumers have no idea how. We recommend that you report the unsafe product to the CSPC online as well as the manufacturer and retailer in writing. You may be surprised to learn that others have also reported the same product and can verify this by researching the CPSC injury data bank. Sadly, very few injuries from dangerous products are ever reported.
Our cruise ship injury law firm knows that this summer thousands of lucky families will enjoy their family vacations on board one of the many cruises departing from Florida. Husbands and wives wanting a little alone time will be tempted to drop the kids off at one of the "kids clubs." As the parents head off to couples massages or the night club, they should keep in mind that the number one crime that occurs on cruise ships is sexual assaults.
The cruise industry spends millions to lure families on board, with teen lounges, water slides and ice skating rinks. The problem is that alcohol flows freely on cruise ships. Charles Lipcon's book "Unsafe on the High-Seas" reports that in July 2004 a thirteen-year-old girl and her twelve-year-old friend were sexually assaulted on a Carnival Cruise ship by their cabin steward.
There are additional reports of minor children being served alcohol by crew members. One sad case involves a fifteen-year-old girl who was served ten drinks. She became violently ill and fell overboard, never to be found again.
1. Do not put your guard down. A cruise ship is like a foreign city. People from all over the world are on board, with lots of dark and scary places to hide. Add alcohol and an inadequate security force to the mix and you have potential danger.
2. Keep Your Kids in Check. Insist on walkie-talkies and impose curfews. Be available if needed and check on them every 2-3 hours to make sure they are where they are supposed to be. Personally deliver them to the kids camp and pick them up. Do not allow them to wander alone.
3. Lock Your Cabin and Balcony Doors. You would not leave your apartment unlocked in a big city. Do not do it here.
4. Have a Buddy System. Do not wander the ship alone, especially at odd hours, especially for women or the elderly.
5. Do not accept drinks from strangers. Insist on an unopened bottle or can and pour it yourself.
6. Find out how and where you can contact ships security. If you are uncomfortable about a crew member or other passenger, notify security BEFORE it is too late.
As summer approaches, Florida parents will sign various waivers, releases and indemnification agreements if they want to unload their children at various camps or day care centers. As a Miami-Dade County children's injury attorney, I recommend caution be exercised before you sign anything.
Florida's Supreme Court made it clear in Kirton v. Fields that parents cannot waive their children's rights by signing a release in a commercial activity. This is true in most jurisdictions in the United States. However, what has been defined as a commercial activity has been hotly litigated in the courts.
In 2010 the Florida Legislature once again came to the aid of big business at the expense of injured children by passing §744.301(3). This law, buried under the "domestic relations" section of the Florida Statutes, allows business owners to escape liability when the activity is "inherently dangerous" so long as the business operator acts reasonably. The Statute also excludes claims for failing to warn of a dangerous condition.
To further help business protect themselves from accountability to an injured child, the Florida Legislation drafted the release and put it right on the books for all businesses to use. For example, if your local swim camp has a high rise diving board and your child is severely injured there may be no ability to obtain compensation for their injuries. Especially if you have signed the attached form.
Our South Florida personal injury lawyers recommend that before you put your children in the hands of anyone this summer, you carefully research the training, experience and supervisor-to- child ratio.
The last thing a new parent wants to worry about is their baby being injured during delivery. Fortunately, most babies are born without complication and most birth-related traumas resolve. Although, doctors, hospitals or delivery teams make mistakes that cause lifelong neurological injuries, Florida's legislation stepped in to protect them legal accountability by establishing Florida's Birth Related Neurological Injury Compensation Association (NICA).
NICA,created in 1988, established a plan to pay for the certain limited care of babies born only under all of the following circumstances:
1. Alive
2. Spinal or brain injuries
3. Birth weight of at least 2500 grams
4. Injured due to oxygen deprivation
5. Birth in a participating hospital
6. Suffered a permanent or substantial impairment
7. Not caused by a genetic abnormality
8. Delivered by a qualified doctor.
The determination of whether a child is covered by the NICA plan is made by an Administrative Judge. Our South Florida birth-related injury law firm recommends that any expecting parents verify whether the doctor and hospital has registered with the plan before the child is born. Florida law requires doctors and hospitals to provide all patients with notice that they are in the plan and a brochure that outlines its benefits. NICA has its own website where it lists participating physicians. Sadly, it has not been updated since 2009.
One of the primary "benefits" of NICA is that it provides parents with a lump-sum cash payment of $100,000. While this may seem like a significant amount of money, it very rarely will compensate parents for the lifetime of emotional and financial stress that taking care of a severely injured child requires.
As a Miami hospital malpractice attorney, I believe that NICA serves to deprive those who have the greatest need for compensation from obtaining needed justice by insulating those who cause harm from accountability.
As a South Florida medical malpractice attorney, I consider the case of Ancel Pratt, Jr. an important example of the need to hold volunteer team doctors to the same standard of care on the field as in the hospital. Florida has a complex medical malpractice statute which provides often insurmountable obstacles to injured patients and their families to obtain justice.
Florida Statute Section §768.135 is specifically carved out to provide additional immunity for doctors who are serving as volunteer team physicians. The statute is intended to apply when the doctor is volunteering his services at an athletic event sponsored by a public or private elementary school and who agrees to render emergency care to a participant provided that the care is reasonable.
The danger of this statute is that it encourages doctors who are not necessarily competent or experienced in providing emergency trauma services with a layer of protection in volunteering for the local soccer team. As a Miami medical malpractice lawyer and a father, this law concerns me. I do not want to see a soccer mom who is a radiologist or plastic surgeon get drawn into volunteering as the team's doctor, and end up providing negligent care and be immune from liability.
Florida law should not allow doctors to serve as volunteer team physicians unless they are qualified emergency room or trauma specialists.
As a Miami dangerous products law firm we see many of the life-changing injuries caused by defective design. None is more heart wrenching than crib-related deaths. The Journal of Pediatrics recently released a study indicating that nearly 10,000 American babies are injured by cribs every year. According to the Consumer Products Safety Commission there have been 32 infant suffocation and strangulation deaths since 2000.
In 90% of the cases, the injured child was left alone when the fall occurred. Most of the injuries were to the head and neck. Wonder why? As a Florida child injury lawyer, I believe the fact that the Consumer Products Safety Commission has not updated its crib safety standards for nearly 30 years is the primary reason for so many preventable injuries.
Starting in June new Federal Standards will be in place for all cribs bought and sold in the U.S. In the meantime consider the following ways to keep your baby safe:
Never place pillows or thick quilts in a baby's sleep environment to prevent suffocation .
No gaps larger than two fingers between the sides of the crib and the mattress.
Proper assembly of cribs is paramount - If you are not sure, call the manufacturer for assistance or hire a professional crib installer.
Do not use broken, modified or rented cribs, especially if more than 10 years old.
Never place a crib near a window with blinds or baby monitor cords.
I am a parent of two kids and a Florida prescription drug attorney and I am amazed at how literally incomprehensible the labeling and dosage information is on many non-prescription pediatric drugs.
A recent study by JAMA (The Journal of the American Medical Association) found that 52 medicines were sold without a measuring device in the package and nearly all had inconsistencies between the dosing directions and the devices, missing or superfluous markings or obscure measuring units (grams or cubic centimeters). Of course, the FDA does little to help. Rather than demanding standardized labels and dosages, they established a voluntary guideline.
Our Miami children's injury law firm recommends that parents administering medication to children should carefully read instructions and understand measurements. For example, realize that a tablespoon is four teaspoons and always use a standardized measuring device.
