Child Injury Lawyer Blog
By David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
I found a very helpful and resourceful site called www.kidsandcars.org dedicated to child safety and the prevention of injuries and death from non-traffic motor vehicle related incidents. “Non-traffic motor vehicle related incidents” – What is this referring to? It refers to any incident in which a child is injured or dies involving a vehicle that is not in an automobile accident or crash. This would include but not limited to the following:
A cold front went through the Upper Mid West including States like North Dakota and South Dakota. Many schools were closed in the Dakotas as well as other States like Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, and Missouri. The temperature in Grand Forks, Dakota dropped to a record low of 37 degrees below zero which beat the prior record set in 1979 according to the National Weather Service.
In Tacoma, Washington, a 6 year old boy -Sebastian Hizey – died when parts from a red monster truck came flying into the stand and hit the little boy. Another spectator was injured as well. The monster truck was spinning around doing donuts when parts flew 30 to 50 feet beyond and over safety barriers into the stands.
In Mississippi, school bus drivers need to have background checks before they are hired to drive our children. Recently, a school bus driver in Jackson County, Mississippi, had two bus accidents in less than one month. The second wreck caused five children to be hospitalized when the bus ran off the road and overturned. Fortunately, the first wreck involving this same bus driver only caused property damage and no injuries.
In Alabama and Other States, children suffer personal injuries and in some cases, death, as a result of an incident or accident at a child day care center. In Alabama, a child day care center has reporting and documentation obligations and responsibilities for these incidents pursuant to the 
Winter weather and big chartered buses can often times be a dangerous combination. In Seattle, Washington, a charter bus crashed through a barrier after it was in an accident with another chartered bus. The buses came close to falling off of a 20 feet embankment. Tow trucks eventually safety removed the buses but it took hours to do so. The buses were carrying 80 young adults from a training program in Moses Lake, Washington. Many of the passengers were taken to a local hospital (Harborview Medical Center) for treatment of minor injuries.
Police in Richmond, Wisconsin reported that a school bus driver was arrested for intoxication. The school bus driver was transporting 43 children at the time of the incident. In Wisconsin, the legal limit of intoxication for commercial drivers is .04. Fortunately, no children were injured as a result of the bus driver’s drinking. It is quite unsettling to read about such a story. The school district rightfully suspended the driver. It is difficult enough to drive a school bus. No school bus driver should ever get behind the wheel while under the influence of any amount of alcohol. It puts our children at undue risk for personal injuries and even death.
In Nassau County, New York and other cities throughout the State, there are holiday festivals and celebrations. Grandparents, parents, and children celebrate the holidays together with food, song and dance. A good time is expected by all. Unfortunately, holiday gatherings are some times the site of unexpected tragedy, injuries to children and in the most tragic cases death. A 76 year old man lost control of his 2007 BMW X3 and crashed into a Channukah Wonderland party in commercial area of Woodmere, New York. A total of 14 people were injured including a child under the age of 2. The accident victims were taken to three local hospitals for evaluation and treatment. The BMW at issue was reported to be registered to Theodore Saretsky, a local psychiatrist. A local religious leader, Rabbi Heshy Blumstein of Young Israel of Hewett and his wife, Mimi, visited some of the injured at Winthrop hospital.