Child Injury Lawyer Blog
By David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
Many children and parents believe that a BB gun is a toy and posed no real danger to children. Many child safety advocates would disagree. In Logansport, Indiana, a 6 year old girl suffered personal injuries when she was accidentally shot in the head by a BB gun at a younger friend’s house. The younger friend was only 3 years old. Lt. Cathi Collins with the Logansport Police Department reported that the 6 year old (Ariana Roman) was be treated and monitored at the Fort Wayne Hospital – Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. The BB gun shot incident caused damage to an artery in the brain and a skull fracture. The BB gun at issue was placed on a shelf but was still within reach of the children.
A lawsuit over an incident occurring in 2004 has finally been settled. The family of Anthony Flott, now 7-years-old, brought the lawsuit on the Anthony’s behalf after he was dropped and hit his head at a Sleepers to Sneakers day care center. Anthony was 5-months old when the incident occurred. A caregiver was holding the baby when he slipped out of the caregiver’s arms and hit his head on a concrete floor. Anthony’s mother, Vicki Hodges, says she was not informed about the incident and later that night she had trouble waking him for a feeding. Hodges took her son to a hospital where doctors discovered the infant needed emergency brain surgery.
Michael Boulware, a 26-year-old former Sumter County, South Carolina, deputy will spend 12 years in prison for having sex with a 14-year-old girl back in July 2009. On November 8, 2010, Boulware pleaded guilty to Criminal Sexual Conduct with a Minor in the 2nd degree.
A little girl, believed to be about 3-years-old from Charlotte, North Carolina, is clinging on to life after falling into her family’s in-ground pool. The child was playing with her parents outside in the family’s backyard when in a moment’s time the parents discovered their child was gone. After searching the nearby area, the child’s father found her in the pool, which was almost drained and had only a few feet of water in the pool. The parents performed CPR on the child until rescue units arrived. Once the paramedics arrived they performed CPR on the child until arriving at the hospital. Doctors at the emergency rooms reported they did discover vital signs.
The Staples Center is the home of the Los Angeles Lakers NBA basketball team. The Staples Center is also the focal point of an investigation regarding the death of a 2 year old boy (Lucas Anthony Tang) who fell from a luxury suite while attending the game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors. The incident took place on November 21, 2010 when Lucas fell over a low wall in one of the luxury suites at the Staples Center. The fall incident took place from the third level top tier of the luxury suite just minutes after the game ended in a victory for the Lakers.
Typically, amusement parks and theme parks are great fun and a wonderful place to spend time with family and friends. Unfortunately for some amusement and theme parks are the sites of tragic injuries that a person must endure for a lifetime. In some instances, visitors including children die at theme parks and amusement parks. What should be a place of joy and fun turns into a place of sorrow and grief.
Rev. John Jenkins, President of Notre Dame University, has recently admitted responsibility in the tragic death of Declan Sullivan, a 20-year-old student videographer at the university. Sullivan was killed when a hydraulic lift he was on toppled over while he was filming an outdoor football practice. The National Weather Service reported gusts up to 51 mph on the day the incident occurred.
In Austin, Texas and other cities, parents, caregivers, day care providers, child care providers, and, yes, babysitters should recognize that small children are at risk of serious personal injury from any act of pushing shoving, hitting, shaking, and / or punching. Infants and toddlers will cry. They will disobey and they will throw fits. Child care providers must recognize that small children are small children. In dealing with children, the answer should never be to raise a fist to the child, to push the child, or to shake the child. This is especially important since small children are at risk for Shaken Baby Syndrome which can lead to serious permanent brain injuries and in some instances death.