Child Injury Lawyer Blog
By David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
Children love playing pretend with toy guns. Unfortunately, a simple toy gun can be mistaken for a weapon which, in turn, can lead to dangerous and deadly consequences. In Palmdale, California, a deputy sheriff shot a 15 year old who was playing with a toy gun. Apparently, the child was playing “cops and robbers” and pointed the gun at a deputy sheriff / police officer. Since the toy resembled a real gun, the deputy responded by shooting the teenager.
The United States Department of Health and Human Resources has a website that has a great reference tool for parents and caregivers with children in day care centers and child care centers. Each state regulates day care centers / child care centers through a state specific administrative code and / or policy manual. Go to 
In California and other States, bicyclists are injured every day on or near roadways. Bicyclists suffer serious personal injuries and in some accidents death due to driver inattention, distraction, and / or negligence. In some cases, the driver is subject to criminal prosecution for the wrongful death or personal injuries of the bicyclists. In California, Gaspar Reyes was sentenced to a one year suspended sentence and three years of probation for the death of a bicyclist, Kathy Marie Gienger. Reyes hit Ms. Gienger with a big truck while trying to make a right hand turn. Ms. Gienger was in the crosswalk at the time of the incident. Reyes claimed that he stopped but prosecutors wisely secured the photos that were taken by a nearby ATM at the Safe Credit Union. This photographs taken at 1 second intervals impeached Mr. Reyes’ claim that he stopped prior to making the turn.
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.
A 13 year old boy recently died in a bicycle accident at the Plainfield Skateboard Park in Boy, 13, killed in bicycle accident at Plainfield skateboard park in Plainfield, Connecticut. Witnesses informed police that the boy was attempting a move at the top of the ramp when he lost control of his bicycle and hit his head. Unfortunately and tragically, the boy was not wearing a helmet.
In North Dakota and other States, child abuse and neglect comes in all different types and forms. Law enforcement officials in Bismarck, North Dakota are prosecuting a woman who allegedly breast fed her child while she was under the influence / drunk from alcohol. At the time of the breast feeding incident, the child was 6 weeks old. The mother (Stacey Anvarinia) is 27 years old and represented by a North Dakota attorney. Ms. Anvarinia’s attorney stated that no blood was taken at the time of the arrest. In criminal cases of this nature, the Defendant is entitled to representation and it is the State’s burden to prove the case. According to the prosecutor, alcohol was not the only factor in the prosecution of this case.
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.
In Arcadia, Missouri, there is a great sigh of relief for the family of Joshua Childers and the surrounding community. Joshua got out of his house one night while his mother was on the telephone and his father was sleeping. The family looked for Joshua for about 45 minutes and then called for help. Search parties were organized and luckily the boy was found by a volunteer.