Child Injury Lawyer Blog
By Joseph R. Hillebrand Attorney and David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
The Christian County (Missouri) Optimist Club hosts an annual event called Safetypalooza. This program promotes bicycle safety to children. The event provides children with important safety lessons for riding bicycle. Every year, children are unfortunately injured while riding bicycles in Missouri and other States. Safetypalooza is an important program that helps prevent serious personal injuries and wrongful death to children who ride bicycles.
An 11 year old Springfield, Massachusetts boy recently committed suicide after daily
In Missouri and other States around the nation, it appears that more and more stories are being reported about female teachers having inappropriate (sexual) relationships with male students. Some believe that these situations are different from male teachers having a relationship with a female or a male student. I disagree. Teachers are put in a position of trust with students. Teachers are not placed into schools to hit on or pick up students like at a singles bar. Teachers are there to supervise and educate our children – not have sex with them. In St. Louis (Breckenridge Hills), Missouri, an investigation is under way regarding a Special School District teacher who allegedly had an inappropriate relationship with a 17 year old male student at Ritenour High School. See 
In Alabama, Florida, and other States, charter buses fill the roads. There have been several charter bus accidents and incidents in the news over the past few months. This has led safety experts and government officials to question the standards for bus manufacturing, maintenance and operation. In Montgomery, Alabama, a charter bus filled with children recently caught on fire. It appears that the fire started in the brake system and then spread to other parts of the bus. Fortunately, the passengers (adults and children) were safely evacuated from the bus. One of the adult passengers did need oxygen from smoke inhalation. Fortunately, serious personal injuries and death were avoided.
A tragic pedestrian / school bus accident took place in Warwick (Providence) Rhode Island recently. A 15 year old student was hit and killed by a school bus carrying students from Providence High School. News reports indicate that the student was wearing headphone at the time of the accident. She was hit while she was crossing the street. While the student may have been distracted, it is unknown from the information reported in the news who was at fault for the accident. Of course, it is not against the law for a pedestrian to wear headphones. There have been other accidents in which pedestrians have been distracted while wearing headphones. This goes the same for drivers as well.
In Arizona and other States, rivers can be quite dangerous places even for strong young men who believe that they can easily deal with the strong currents, frigid temperatures, and other hazards. Tragically, a dead body was found which will most likely be identified as one of three who jumped into the Colorado River on a hiking trip. The two teens and man were not wearing life vests or jackets. Until family members are contacted and the body is positively identified, the name of the victim will not be released by a newspaper. Search efforts continue for the other two people who were swept away by the strong river current. Grand Canyon Officials identified the three victims as Saif Savaya (age 15), Mark Merrill (age 16) and Joe Merrill (age 22).
Cruelty to animals is no laughing matter. Recently, students at Colony Middle School were disciplined after their actions led to the death of a moose. The students thought it was a good idea to taunt and tease the animal. The moose was so upset that the moose repeatedly threw itself against a wall until it died. Some may read this article and dismiss it as a childhood prank. The incident really does have a bigger meaning. It shows how far students will go to tease animals or other children for that matter. Children should show empathy for their peers, teachers, and animals. Many animals are defenseless and should be treated with respect and dignity. It is a shame that bullying and teasing led to the death of the Moose. Officials acted properly in disciplining the children.
Savannah Georgia is a wonderful tourist destination. Unfortunately, at times, Savannah is also the site of automobile accidents involving pedestrians, personal injuries and wrongful death. Recently, a business development manager from Sweden was killed and a woman from Sweden was injured when a pick up truck hit them during a night walking tour in downtown historic Savannah. Nils Eric Svensson, age 61, of Skanor, Sweden and Anne Christine Bjarkby were visiting Savannah, Georgia as part of a Swedish delegation. Ms. Bjarkby suffered a fractured hip.
The Dekalb County (Decatur) School Board – Georgia will review an anti-bullying policy following the suicide death of an 11 year old boy. Jareem Harrera hung himself on April 16. He told his parents that he was upset after being teased for “talking funny” and “being gay”. Tragically, Jareem was found by another family member after Jareem hung himself. The policy that was in place at the school required teachers to report instances of bullying and that three instances / incidents would be sufficient to get the violating student expelled.
Colorado lawmakers are considering changes to the State law regarding seat belts. In particular, Colorado law may be changed to include the failure to wear a seat belt as a primary offense. In other words, a driver could be pulled over by a police officer and issued a citation for failing to wear a seat belt. Current Colorado laws require that a driver commit another traffic offense before being cited for the failure to wear a seat belt.