Child Injury Lawyer Blog
By Will Brown, Attorney and David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
A 1-year-old boy of Morgan County, Ohio has tragically died. Official suspect the cause of the infant’s death was bacterial meningitis, however, the cause of his death has not been confirmed. The boy’s day care facility has also undergone extensive cleaning. Although the boy’s death has not been officially attributed to meningitis, director of nursing at the Morgan County Health Department confirmed that as man as 20 children and their respective families have been notified and advised to watch for symptoms. Another girl who attended the same child care facility as the boy is also being treated at Columbus Hospital. Cain was first contacted about the girl being treated for bacterial meningitis, just 15 minutes later she was informed about the boy’s case. The day care center was not named. Meningitis is typically caused by a viral or bacterial infection and is an inflammation of the membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord. Typical symptoms are those similar to upper-respiratory distress and the flu. Infected children may also keep their chin tucked in because it is too painful to move their neck, severe headaches are also a symptom. Symptoms usually appear 3-4 days after exposure. For more read 1-year-old Morgan County, Ohio, boy dies of suspected bacterial meningitis, day care facility undergoes extensive cleaning.
A fourth grade student in Onslow County, North Carolina faces suspension after he was caught concealing blades inside markers. The student was caught at Morton Elementary School making the weapons by inserting razor blades and “other sharp objects” into felt tip pens and markers. The student also sold the weapons to other students at the elementary school. The North Carolina elementary school student now faces school suspension and court charges for creating the weapons and selling them on school property. Three other students face similar charges for also having the weapons at school. For more read 
In Arizona and other States, children enjoy playing in bounce houses and jumping castles. Unfortunately, on some occasions, children suffer serious personal injuries while jumping in or just occupying a bounce house. In Pima County, Arizona, a terrible incident was reported in which a bounce house described as a jumping castle was lifted 15 feet in the air by a dust devil and blew the inflatable structure across three lanes of traffic before landing on the ground. The Tuscon Arizona Fire Department responded to the scene of the accident. It was reported that a boy and a girl were inside the bounce house at the time of the incident and suffered serious personal injuries.
Due to the high-profile cases of Jessica Lunsford, Carlie Brucia and Sarah Lunde, the Florida Legislature expanded the Jacksonville-based Child Predator CyberCrime Unit 10-fold, which included adding a wide array of detectives, prosecutors and victim advocates. The unit had five offices statewide and made hundreds of arrests. The unit became so noteworthy that its director made an appearance on “Oprah,” and was held out as a model for cracking down on sexual predators who use the Internet in their abusive acts. Although the unit appears to be one of the state’s valuable resources, it was not prevented from falling victim to Gov. Rick Scott’s vigorous budget cuts. The program’s staff was dramatically decreased from a 34-person staff to just 15 and were moved to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The proposed plan is to keep only 6 out of the 15 investigators statewide. Critics of the cutbacks are concerned that the FDLE will not have the resources to implement the labor-intensive online investigations the unit’s staff is use to conducting. For more details and criticisms read 
The license of a home-operated day care center has been suspended after a 17-month-old died in the provider’s care. It was a playpen-related death. The reasons for the suspension were lack of adequate supervision and use of sound judgment by the provider. Police Lt. Ken Landwehr said the initial investigation indicated the toddler apparently got “caught up” at the top of the playpen while attempting to climb out, which probably led to asphyxiation. However, police are expecting an exact cause of death after reviewing the autopsy results. The day care provider found the toddler unresponsive and called emergency crews, who pronounced the toddler dead shortly after their arrival. An emergency order of suspension was issued by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. The order identified the home operated day care center and Amys Lil Angels and the day care operator by Amy Shannon Waner.
In Nebraska and other States, parents bring their children to day care centers with the hope and expectation that good care will be provided and at the end of the day the child will be healthy, happy, and ready for pick up to go home. Unfortunately, not all days spent in a day care center are so idyllic and, in some instances, a child suffers serious personal injuries and even death in a day care center. Some personal injuries and deaths are unexpected and could not be prevented even under the best of circumstances but other deaths and injuries could be prevented with better supervision, more timely medical care, and compliance with the State and local day care regulations.
If passed, a new Minnesota bill would require stricter CPR training requirements for the state’s child care centers. The bill would require training for all teachers and assistant in child care centers. The current law in Minnesota only requires one person trained in CPR to be present at the center. The bill was introduced by two Minnesota lawmakers after the tragic death of a 4-year-old girls in North Mankato. Hannah Kozitza died in June 2010 after choking on a grape at her day care facility. For more see 
Due to an increasing awareness and concern about a child safety at day care centers, Kendra’s law has been on the books in South Carolina since August 2010. A consequence of the law is that people are starting to pay more attention to what goes on into child care centers. The law seems to come at a perfect time. The National Child Abuse and Neglect Data reported more than 1700 child deaths were reported in 2007. Some day care centers in South Carolina are easing parents mind by installing new technology in the facilities. Essential Childcare has placed cameras all throughout the center allowing parents to watch their children from a secure website or mobile device. The center has made the process of pick-up and drop-off digital as well. The only people who can pick up a child must be registered in the system ahead of time. A person picking up a child at Essential Childcare will have to be registered in the system ahead of time, touch his/her finger to a machine, and then input a code to unlock the doors. The new technology developments are the result of putting safety at the forefront of child care. For more please read 
Jessica Tata ran a day care center in Houston, Texas. She ran the day care center but did not run it well. On February 24, 2011, there was a fire at the day care center that caused the death of 4 children under Tata’s care. It was reported that there were no adults in the day care center when it was on fire. Law enforcement officials have charged Jessica Tata with the crimes of reckless injury to a child, abandoning a child under the age of 15, and manslaughter. It is believed that Tata fled to Nigeria. Currently, Jessica Tata is on the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) 15 Most Wanted List. See