By Stephanie F. Brown, Attorney and David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
Toys can and do cause eye injuries every year. During the holiday season, a Christmas Story has become a classic. It is a movie about a boy named Ralphie who has a wish to get a special BB gun for Christmas. He wish comes true and he goes into the back yard to shot the gun. Sure enough, when he finally gets to use his gun, he suffers a minor eye injury. It was scary for Ralphie. He cried and ran to his mother. While the movie, The Christmas Story, is a warm hearted comedy, there is a serious problem and danger with toy related eye injuries. The Georgia Optometric Association posted a helpful article at the The Daily Citizen (Northwest Georgia) Website. Parents, child care providers, and teachers should use their best efforts to prevent eye injuries from occurring. In doing so, dangerous toys should be removed and close supervision should be provided to make sure that accidental injuries do not otherwise take place from common items like pencils, pens, sticks, sharp objects, and other items or toys.
Day care centers have a duty to supervise children. In addition, day care centers should be more than just a babysitter. Day care centers should use their best efforts to enrich the lives and education of children by engaging the children in meaningful activities. Unfortunately, many day care centers bring the children into the day care center or day care home and turn on the television. It is well known that inactivity in children is not healthy for the bodies or their minds. You can read more about the issue or problem at
According to a British organization, the Child Accident Prevention Trust, attractively packaged capsules containing dishwashing detergent pose a serious poisoning risk for children. The capsules contain highly-concentrated detergent, which can cause serious chemical burns. According to the Trust, “hundreds” of children are being poisoned, and they attribute an 11% increase in calls about accidental poisoning to the introduction of the new tablets on the market. Toddlers have reportedly suffered chemical burns to the throat, eyes and skin after biting or playing with the tablets. The vibrant packaging and attractive design of the tablets are believed to make the poison more attractive to young children.
In Maryland, a father was recently sentenced to 20 years in prison based on child abuse charges brought by the State. Andre Nathaniel Robinson, age 31, was accused of the crime of child abuse for burn injuries to his baby son. Mr. Robinson maintains his innocence of a crime and stated that the injuries were accidental in nature. The baby treated at Baltimore Washington Medical Center for burn injuries to the chest, right arm and face. While Mr. Robinson had a right to an attorney and to defend himself at trial, he entered an Alford plea to the charges. This type of plea in Maryland allows a Defendant to maintain his or her innocence with a plea that there is sufficient evidence for a conviction.
