Child Injury Lawyer Blog
By David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
A 15-year-old sophomore has been charged with cyberstalking and using false information for an alleged Facebook posting that occurred in November 2010. According to an affidavit, the student at Smithfield High School used a fake account to harass a freshman who, because of a birth deformity, is missing part of her foot. The sophomore allegedly used the fake account to pose as the freshman. The account also had a picture of a bloody severed foot and included the freshman’s last name and birthdate. John Reis, an anti-bullying educator, is concerned that people are not taking the incident seriously, thinking of it as a practical joke instead. Reis is concerned that other students are not appreciate the inherent meanness of the phony account. Also according to the affidavit, the sophomore’s father was rude to police and seemed annoyed when police came knocking on the family’s door. Reis says that parents need to be proactive instead of running for cover. Parents should take responsibility themselves as well as let their children take responsibility for their actions. When a child behaves inappropriately there should be consequences, children should and accept those consequences and learn from their behavior. The Rhode Island State Police cyber crimes units confiscated 3 computers from the sophomore’s home. To read more on this story please see Rhode Island sophomore accused of cyber bullying on popular social networking site.
The California Highway Patrol (CHP), Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and Child Doula Services have come together to conduct monthly inspections for child passenger safety. According to CHP Officer Paul Dahlen the goal is to educate not enforce. Hopefully educating those drivers with child passengers will reduce child personal injury and child death statewide. Properly installing child safety seats is a state-wide issue. Dahlen stated that 90 percent of inspected car seats are improperly installed. Proper installation of child safety seats is important because it can reduce the chance of a child being ejected from the vehicle during a crash, as well as decrease a child’s chance of sustaining severe personal injuries or being killed. Under the current California law, children must be secured in an appropriate child passenger restraint (either car or booster seat) until the child is at least 6-years-old or weighs 60 pounds or more. The current fine for violating this law can be significant, 435 plus add points to an individual’s driving records. For more on this topic please see 
A former Massachusetts teacher who ran off with a 15-year-old male student back in 2009 has been sentenced. Judge Cornelius Moriarty sentenced 25-year-old, former elementary school teacher, Lisa Lavoie, to 5 years probation. Lavoie was charged in 2009 after she and a 15-year-old boy ran off together. The pair were found together a week later in a motel in Morgantown, West Virginia. Lavoie pleaded guilty to 3 counts of statutory rape and once count of enticement of a child under 16 years of age. State prosecutors asked for 3-5 years imprisonment, a sentence consistent with statutory guidelines. However, Lavoie was spared jail time because Judge Moriarty believed she will not reoffend given the particular circumstances of this case. Moriarty does not believe this relationship was sought out for sexual gratification, unlike most adult-child sexual relation cases. As part of her probation, Lavoie was ordered to not have any contact with the boy or his immediate family. Prosecutors also asked Moriarty to order Lavoie to not have any unsupervised contact with children under the age of 16. However, Moriarty, believing Lavoie to not be a sexual predator, denied the state’s request. Lavoie was also ordered to complete an alcoholic rehabilitation program. Lavoie’s attorney, says she accepts responsibility for her actions and in no way excuses what she did. For more please see 
The proper anchoring of bounce houses is vital to the safety of children in Arizona and other States. Some weather can be predicted with the daily forecast. Of course, there are times when an unexpected or sudden weather event takes place and wreaks havoc in an area. In Marana, Arizona, it was reported that a “microburst” took place and picked up a bounce house that was being used by a 10 year old girl and a 7 year old girl. The 10 year old girl was carried for over 100 feet before she then fell out of the bounce house structure. It was reported that the girl suffered serious head lacerations and other injuries.
In Lynn, Massachusetts, a personal injury lawsuit was filed against the owner and operators of a home-day care provider after their son fell from the home’s second story porch and crash head first in the cement. John Yasi, attorney for the Lynn family, said the young boy, Kelvin Sholola, sustained severe personal injuries including a brain injury and fractured bone in his forehead. Yasi also stated that Kelvin may suffer lifelong developmental issues because of the incident due to Kelvin’s age and the location of his personal injuries. The lawsuit against the Massachusetts day care operator, Lucilia Guerrero, who was licensed to operate the facility, left Kelvin, who was 21-months-old at the time, and his two other siblings unattended. Being left unattended, Kelvin fell from the second-floor porch of the home because of “rotted wooden slats and insufficient protective barricading.” The kids were apparently prohibited from being on the porch by the home’s state license. Therefore, the family is not only alleging the children were improperly on the porch, but also that they were unsupervised by Guerrero. Kelvin was “comatose for several days” after the incident. However, he is presently out of the hospital although his speech, amongst other things, have appeared to slow down in development. Guerrero eventually surrendered her license after the incident. For more on this story see 
Officials in Manassas Park City, Virginia, have officially released notice of several violations of the city’s extended child care program, Costello Park Preschool after allegations of sexual abuse against an 8-year-old child were found to be true. An 8-year-old girl who attended the day care program told her mother in September 2010 of separate incidents where she was sexually abused by a program employee in July and August 2010. After the child’s mother learned of the accusations, she reported the information to the City Parks and Recreation Director, Catherine Morretta. Morretta then notified local police, which lead to an investigation by both the city police and social service officials. The Virginia Department of Social Services Division of Licensing Programs also began an investigation since the day care is licensed by the state.
A woman of Portland, Oregon, has been charged with more than 20 felony charges after the woman allegedly recorded herself performing sexual acts on a 1-year-old boy. The 24-year-old woman was identified as Inez Lambert. Lambert was arrested after a friend saw 3 separate videos on Lambert’s computer and called the child abuse hotline. The videos allegedly show Lambert performing a sex act on the child. The videos were described by members of the Multnomah County Child Abuse Team as very disturbing. Lambert allegedly sent the cell phone videos to a man who is currently overseas. Investigators are highly concerned that other acts of abuse occurred due to Lambert’s previous occupations. She was a day care provider at LA Fitness and also worked the front desk at a 24 Hour Fitness. Officers are looking into whether Lambert every babysat for other families. The FBI and Department of Justice are also investigating the case. Lambert has been charged with seven courts of sodomy andusing a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct and sex abuse. The man overseas might also be arrested, however that will be handled by the military. To read more on this story please see