Child Injury Lawyer Blog
By Scott Zahler, Attorney and David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
In Georgia and other States, teens engage in hunting activities. During most hunting trips or activities, there are no problems or injuries. Unfortunately, at times, an errant shot is fired and results in a serious personal injury and, in some cases, death to a hunter or bystander. A hunting accident was reported in Fulton County, Florida. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that a teen was accidentally shot when his gun discharged while he was hunting squirrels with his brother. The teenagers were hunting with .22-caliber rifles. The gun went off when the gun hit the ground and then hit the teen in the face/cheek. It appears that the teen will recover from these hunting related injuries. See Teen Shot While Hunting with Brother in Fulton County, Florida.
An unfortunate incident recently took place at the University of Cincinnati (Ohio). It was reported that Everette Howard, an 18 year old student, died as a result of injuries sustained by a Taser gun used by campus police. It was reported that Everette was attempting to break up a fight at the time. It is expected that a full investigation will be completed and then be summarized in a written report since a death resulted from this incident. There appeared to be several witnesses to the incident. The use of force by a police officer is permitted under certain circumstances. In particular, if the health safety and welfare of the police office and / or others are put at risks – force is often times utilized. There are particular policies and procedures in place for each police department as to the use of force including the use of Taser guns. The incident will be reviewed to determine if protocols and criteria were met with respect to the facts and circumstances of this incident.
A teenager was critically wounded after he was shot in the chest at a Gloucester City, New Jersey playground. Camden County police were called to the playground around midnight to break up a fight that had broke out. Police were called back to the scene just 45 minutes after their first arrival, because an 18-year-old had been shot in the chest. Neighbors near playground say the location is a popular place for teenagers to hangout and fight. One neighbor estimated about 10 to 15 fights occur at the playground weekly. The victim was taken to a local hospital in critical condition. As time of the release of the following news story, no arrests have been made. For more read 
In California and other States, law enforcement officers often times send out public safety announcements. One issue that is often addresses in these public safety announcements is gun safety. Kern County California Sheriff Donny Youngblood recently spoke about gun safety and the tragic scenes that his police officers respond to. Namely, responding to a scene in which a child is shot “tugs at your heart” according to Youngblood.
Unfortunately Mississippi has been ranked as the State with the highest rate of child deaths in the nation. This is a distinction or ranking that no State would ever relish or want. The Child Death Review Panel for the Mississippi Department of Health has a mission to study the death rates, causes of death, and work to reduce these numbers or statistics. Each year, the Mississippi Child Death Review Panel studies these very important issues and then makes recommendations in hopes of preventing deaths to Mississippi children from causes or dangers that can be removed or lessened through the work and efforts of parents, care givers, driver, and health care providers. See