Child Injury Lawyer Blog
By Jonathan Safran, Attorney and David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
The Archdiocese of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, publicly stated it would filed for bankruptcy in the midst of pending child abuse lawsuits. According to Archbishop Jerome Listecki, the reason for filing for bankruptcy was because the pending sexual-abuse lawsuits could leave the archdiocese with debts it could not afford. However, one lawyer claims it is a delay tactic being used by the church to avoid opening its records to public scrutiny. In fact, Jeff Anderson, an attorney of St. Paul, Minnesota, who has filed 23 lawsuits against the church, stated he thought the bankruptcy filing was done to delay his deposition of Milwaukee Bishop Richard Sklba. Anderson and his clients have been pushing the archdiocese to make public the names of the priests accused of the sexual child abuse and the church officials who protected them.
In the Winter months, it is very dangerous and risky to leave a small child unattended in a vehicle. In States like Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, and other cold weather states, Winter brings the risks associated with hypothermia. In some instances, a child can die from the effects and complications from hypothermia. Because of these risks as well as the risks of abduction, strangulation, and other dangers of being left alone in a car, it can be a crime to leave a child unattended in a vehicle. It was recently reported that a 21 month old was found locked in a car in Green Bay, Wisconsin outside of a bar. Fortunately, the child was found by law enforcement and did not suffer any serious or permanent injuries from being left unattended in the vehicle. Of course, with more time and other complications, the situation could have been deadly for this child. You can read more about this story at 
Day care operators and employees have a duty to properly supervise the children under their care. At times, children hurt each other and without consistent and timely intervention – serious injuries can occur. A disturbing incident took place at the Kidology Day Care in Milwaukee Wisconsin. Video surveillance recorded a 3 year old attacking an 11 month year old girl. The baby suffered injuries from the 3 year old biting her and punching her. The case is being investigated by law enforcement and child care licensing officials.
In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, two day care employees have been criminally charged regarding an incident in which a boy was left alone in a day care center van. The child was left alone in the van for over 7 hours. It was reported that the boy was 5 years old at the time of the incident. The boy was transported to Kreative Kids Child Development Center. The boy fell asleep on the bus and nobody involved with the transportation or the day care center took any action to account for or check the bus for the child for 7 hours. Even though the van was equipped with an alarm to check for children when the day care van / bus was turned off, the boy still went unnoticed on the van for an extended time period (7 hours). You can read more about this story at 
According to a report released by the Wisconsin Child Death Review Counsel, a total of 1,556 children died in Wisconsin between 2007 and 2008, about one-fourth of these deaths were preventable. Among the top five causes of children fatalities were motor vehicle and other transport crashes; asphyxia; homicide; drowning and poisoning. Combining the 308 accidental deaths with the 63 homicides and 31 suicides made up 26.1% of all child deaths within the state.
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.
In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, it was reported that a 5 year old boy enrolled in a Milwaukee day care center was left in a van for 9 hours. There are dangers in leaving a child in a van. If the incident takes place during hot weather, the child is at risk for hyperthermia. If the incident takes place during cold weather, there is a risk of hypothermia. No matter the weather, there are also other risks when leaving a child unattended in a vehicle. These risks include those related to strangulation and choking. In addition, if a child is left unattended in a vehicle, there is also a risk of abduction and risk of injury if the child wanders away into traffic or or into other dangerous situations.