Child Injury Lawyer Blog
By Scott A. Marks, Attorney and David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
A 3-year-old girl was struck by line drive ball at a Dodgers baseball games. The ball was hit by Dodgers player Russell Martin during batting practice at Dodger Stadium. The child sustained a skull fracture from the line drive and was rushed to the first-aid station by her father. According to the Associated Press, a Dodgers spokesperson said the girl was scheduled for surgery at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, her injuries were not life threatening. Martin expressed sympathy and concern for the child and offered to pay for the medical expenses. To read more about this accident see 3-year-old struck by line drive ball at Dodger Stadium.
The recent pool drowning of a five-year-old boy in Springfield, Missouri should prompt parents, child care providers, babysitters, and others to be on high alert when watching their children at the pool. Safe Kids USA, a nationwide network that works to prevent unintentional child injury, estimates that drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death to children ages 1-14; 900 child deaths occur each year. A coordinator from Safe Kids, Daphne Greenlee, stated the most effective way to prevent your child from sustaining these types of injuries is to keep at watchful eye on them at all time – no talking on the cell phone, reading, or sunbathing. A Safe Kids report revealed the main cause of drowning was lack of attention on behalf of the supervising adults. Greenlee also suggested the “buddy system” as another way to prevent child drowning-related accidents. If a child is in the water he or she should always be with a buddy, whether it is an adult of another child. The buddy should know the rules of the pool such as no running around the pool and where the permissible diving areas are located.
A 14-year-old Greencastle, Indiana boy may have avoided serious injury after he collided with a vehicle late afternoon on June 7. The Greencastle Police report stated the 14-year-old was riding his bike when he crossed the driver of the vehicle, Glenn K. Hollis’, path. According to the police report, the child came into contact with the front driver side fender of Hollis’ 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix, was thrown from the bicycle, and struck his head on the windshield causing him to fall to the ground. The child was then rushed to the Putman County Hospital in an ambulance where he was treated for a head injury. Greencastle Police Department Chief Thom Sutherlin stated he believed the child was treated for minor injuries and was kept overnight in the hospital for observation reasons. Sutherlin said Hollis was not cited for the accident. You can read more about this accident at 
Judy Alvis Harper, 60, former owner of the Palmer-Leigh Small World Day Care Centerin Greensboro, North Carolina, will spend a minimum of 16 months in jail for the death of 16-month-old, Jackson Edmonds. Edmonds died of hyperthermia last March after Harper left the child in a car in the drive way of the day care center. North Carolina State officials closed the day care center the week the death occurred, declaring the day care center to be an unsafe, unhealthy and injurious environment. Harper also received a suspended sentence and supervised probation. You can read more about this incident at 
The State of Indiana has recently focused on the dangers of lawn mowers to children and for good reason. Between 2003-2008 in Indiana, 38% of all serious lawn-mower-related injuries that required hospitalization involved children 16-year-old and younger. Almost 1/4 of these injured involved children ages 6 and younger. Dr. Joan Duwve, medical director of the Injury Prevention Program at the Indiana State Department of Health, stated child injures caused by lawn mowers could be prevented by keeping children away from the areas of the yard that are being mowed.
A Massachusetts couple, Edwine Louissaint, age 33, of Dedham and David Augustin, age 34, of Milton left their children, ages 1 and 10-years-old, alone in a vehicle in a Foxwoods Resort Casino parking garage. Louissaint and Dedham were charged with risk of injury to a child, leaving a child unsupervised in a motor vehicle, and second-degree reckless endangerment said chief spokesman for the Connecticut State Police, Lieutenant Paul Vance. According to police, the couple’s children were turned over to the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families. Surveillance and gambling records revealed that the couple was in the casino for over an hour, stated Vance. Police arrived to the scene after receiving a call from someone who observed the unattended children. To read more details on this incident see 
Between 1998 and 2009, 445 children died from heat stroke after being left unattended in a vehicle; that is an average of 37 child deaths per year. As temperatures are soaring during the summer months, Safe Kids Kansas reminds parents to check their vehicles for sleeping children before leaving a vehicle.
Governor Jennifer Granholm signed into state law Senate Bills 723 and 724, which will give parents more information about the day care providers they choose for their children. Public Act 85 will require day care providers to maintain a licensing notebook. This notebook will contain background information on the day care provider such as licensors renewals, past violations, or any special investigation that has been conducted by the Department of Human Services (DHS). This licensing notebook will be available to parents during operating hours. Also, DHS will not issue or renew a license to day care provider if there has been a past revocation of a license due to a violation that resulted in serious injury or death of a child while under the providers care. Public Act 86 will require DHS to list the number and nature of all special investigations conducted by DHS or any home classified as high risk. These new laws should provide parents with more important information about day care providers.
In Tremont City, Ohio, a 6-year-old girl fell off the trampoline located at her home. The child was being watched by her grandmother through the back door of their home. After the accident, which the grandmother witnessed, the child walked into the home then vomited and lost balance. She was flown to a nearby hospital where she was diagnosed with a mild concussion. The grandmother stated the trampoline was usually secured by a safety net, however, it happened to be unattached on the day the accident occurred. Although the family has had the trampoline for four years, the family took the trampoline down after the accident.
A 4-year-old boy from Kansas died as a result from a large television falling on him. At the time of the accident, the child was apparently climbing on a counter when the large television fell on him, resulting in a severe head injury. Child safety experts say these types of child injuries happen more frequently than people think.