Child Injury Lawyer Blog
By J. Rock Palermo, Attorney and David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
In Terrytown, Louisiana, it was reported that a car crashed into a private elementary school. Six children suffered personal injuries. One of those children was reported to have suffered critical injuries. The school is located just outside of New Orleans. Fire Rescue was called to the scene to remove the children from the rubble. The sheriff’s office reported that the driver was a mother who was dropping off her child at the Stepping Stones Montessori School. The driver / mother thought she had stepped on the brake but stepped on the accelerator instead and crashed into the school. There have been other incidents reported in other States of similar crashes. In just a matter of seconds – lives can changed due to negligent driving. When driving near schools, please exercise the utmost of caution. You can read more about this story at Car Crashes into Louisiana School; 6 Children Hurt
Two Louisiana families suffered a major tragedy after teens from both families drowned. The seven teenagers were playing in the shallow waters of the Red River when one teen stepped of the slippery ledge and plummeted into much deeper waters. The other teens tried to save the boy, but they too were overpowered by the water and taken into the deeper water. The onlooking relatives, who could also not swim, desparately screamed for help as they watched their teens vanish and drown.
In Slidell, Louisiana, a man was arrested and charged with the death of a 22 month old girl. As reported in the WWLTV News, the St. Tammany Sheriff’s office believes that Rubie Boland was shaken and assaulted by her babysitter at the time – Andrew Roberts (age 20).
In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a child died while under the care of Wanda’s Kids World (day care center / child care center). It has been reported that Wanda’s Kids World had a liability insurance policy in effect with Colony Insurance. Recently, Colony Insurance filed a lawsuit seeking a court order to determine its obligations (if any) for the injuries / death by the child who was left unattended in a day care center van. It is position of Colony Insurance that no coverage would apply under this particular insurance policy since the incident involved a vehicle (van) which is (according to Colony) excluded under the policy. In Louisiana and other States, an insurance policy is a contract between the insurer (Colony Insurance) and the insured (Wanda’s Kids World). The contract (insurance policy) must be read to determine coverage under the policy. Attorneys are skilled in reading contracts and insurance policies to determine applicable coverage. The review of the insurance policy may require a review of applicable Statutes, Code provisions, insurance regulations, and Court rulings. In this case, Colony Insurance is seeking a court order to hopes that the Court will rule that Colony has no duty to pay or provide coverage for the wrongful death of the child who was left unattended in the vehicle.
A near drowning incident of a 2 year old (Jessica Wheat) in an apartment complex pool in Lake Charles, Louisiana shows the importance of safety precautions and measures for swimming pools that can be accessed by children. There was a four foot fence around the pool at the Wilshire Apartments which was undergoing renovation. In fact, the pool had been closed for about 1 year. Unfortunately, someone had removed some of the fence near the locked gate. This, in turn, had given access to Jessica to get into the pool.