By David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
Home treadmills can be quite useful exercise machines. Rather than traveling to a gym, many people can use a treadmill in their own homes for private, quiet exercise any time of the day. While treadmills can be quite useful tools or machines for exercise, they can also be quite dangerous to children. In emergency rooms, many children over the years have been treated for treadmill related personal injuries. A study published in the Irish Medical Journal documents several treadmill related incidents. Because of the real danger of injury, parents, homeowners, and apartment complexes should take precautions when children are near a treadmill. Education, safety precautions, and adult supervision are key factors that can help prevent or reduce the number of treadmill related injuries to children.
A study released by the University of Washington has shown that an intensive intervention program designed for toddlers with Autism, called the “Early Start Denver Model” can actually improve their IQ, language and social skills. Some of the children involved in the study were even able to attend regular preschool classes. Participants in the study were provided with intensive therapy in all areas of development by trained professionals who worked with the kids one-on-one for 2 hours a day, 5 days a week. The program also included training the parents so that they can reinforce lessons throughout the day.
A medical study in Pediatrics –
A five year old boy from West Wales, United Kingdom, fell off a child’s motorcycle that he had been given as a Christmas present. He suffered serious head injuries from the fall and died after being taken to the local hospital. The child was reportedly playing with the gift in an enclosed playground when the motorcycle accident took place. His father had taken him to the park to practice, since it was closed to automobile traffic over the holiday. Unfortunately, because the enclosed area is usually used for driving practice, it has a concrete surface. According to a neighbor, the park was locked up, but the short fence would be easy for someone to hoist a bike over. Police are calling this a tragic accident. They would not say if the child was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.
Joshua Johnson and his grandmother were in the Golden, Colorado Wal-Mart parking lot when Joshua suddenly broke away from his grandmother and bent over to pick something up off the ground. Debra Debruyne was looking for a parking space and never saw the boy; she struck the child and then dragged him for ten feet before she realized what had happened. When she stopped, Joshua was wedged under her car and couldn’t get out.
A Pennsylvania day care owner is facing a criminal trial for the death of a child under her care. Last summer, a 2 year old died from hyperthermia when he was left unsupervised and unattended in a hot car by Rimma Shvartsman. Ms. Shvartsman, through her criminal defense attorney, will present a defense involving a mental infirmity because she had found out just hours before the alleged criminal acts that her thyroid cancer had returned.