Child Injury Lawyer Blog
By Thomas J. Duff, Attorney and David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
Tragically, children are abused in Iowa every. Some incidents of child abuse are reported and investigated by the Iowan Department of Human Services. Many, however, go unnoticed and unreported as the abused child injuries and needs remain hidden from authorities, law enforcement, teachers, family members and others. Every person who knows of or who suspects child abuse has a duty to report the suspected abuse / neglect. The Department of Human Services has the authority to conduct an assessment of a child who is allegedly the subject of child abuse. There are eight categories of child abuse as set forth in Section 232.68 of the Iowa Code. The categories are the following: physical abuse, mental injury, sexual abuse, child prostitution, exposure of children to drugs or presence of illegal drugs, denial of critical medical care, manufacturing or possession of drugs, and bestiality in front of a child.
Families of two children in Washington state were given quite a scare when a man in a pick up truck lured their children into his vehicle on two separate incidents. The man (Dean Kinsman) offered one child a bicycle and the other shoes if they got into his vehicle. Children who go off with creepy strangers are really in danger and are often times injured, molested, and, in many tragic cases, killed. Fortunately, Kinsman did not take the children away from these families forever; however, the families were quite concerned that these incidents happened in the neighborhood. The boy was 9 years old and the girl was 4 years old.
In Santa Clara, California and other States, school nurse perform a vital function every day. They are there to help supervise, examine, and care for school children. At times, teachers, administrators, school employees, parents, and visitors need the assistance and expertise of a school nurse while on school grounds. Eileen Bowden, a school nurse, collapsed and died after she helped save someone’s life. She was called into action when a man needed help at a school function. Eileen along with another person administered CPR. The incident took place at the Santa Clara (California) High School. Ms. Bowden helped save softball coach John Rahbar.
In Louisville, Kentucky, a Jeep ran into a school bus at an intersection. The Jefferson County school district reported that 15 people suffered personal injuries, 13 of the 15 injured were students from the Brandies Elementary School and Foster Academy.
In a case before the Georgia Supreme Court, the issue of a public school’s liability for releasing a student to the non-custodial parent who did not have permission of the custodial parent to pick up the child is under consideration. The school receptionist received a fake FAX and telephone call allegedly from the custodial parent granting permission to the non-custodial parent to pick up his six year old daughter. The receptionist looked for the child’s information card to see who was authorized to pick up the child but could not locate the card. The school’s computer database did not have any warning about the father.
Young children especially boys are fascinated with guns. Guns are so cool to children that some bring the guns to school to show friends. How can this happen? How does the child gain access to the gun? What safety precautions are put in place for the gun? It is absolutely vital that gun owners safeguard their guns so that children do not have access to the guns. Children with access to guns bring them to school and show friends. This can be the recipe for disaster, personal injuries and wrongful death in Georgia and other States.