By David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
Text messaging is in full force in Pennsylvania and throughout the United States. Unless you have been locked in your house and have not been around any teenagers or adults for that matter, you should know about text messages. It is a tool. It is a game / toy. It can also be dangerous. Like anything else in life, moderation is important unless, of course, you are attempting to break some kind of record and want notoriety. The maxim should still apply “as long as nobody gets hurt”. Anyway, in Pennsylvania, two mean (Nick Andes, age 30, and Doug Klinger, age 30) spent the hours upon hours upon hours text messaging each other to try to break some kind of record. To Nick’s dismay, he received a bill of $26,000 for his excessive text messaging acts. Nick did have unlimited texting under his plan so the bill is being investigated and should be resolved in Nick’s favor. To me, Unlimited means Unlimited so Nick’s carrier should not be charging him any more than the fixed charges.
Apple Computer recently removed a disturbing application / game from the App Store called Shaken Baby. The premise of the game involves a graphic of a baby crying. When the i phone is shaken, the baby stops crying and two red Xs then form over the baby’s eyes. It is a sick joke of a game with truly no viable punch line. While we live in a country of free speech, private companies like Apple have the ability to censor improper, immoral, and unacceptable content. While Apple for some reason initially approved this game for download, Apple eventually came to its senses and removed the game / application from the App Store.
A former teacher recently was sentenced to 4 years for molesting a 14 year old in a hotel room. Daniel Axtell, age 38, is a former Huntington Beach, California middle school student. In December 2008, he pleaded guilty to 6 felony counts for lewd acts on / with a 14 year old. Axtell met the girl at Talbert Middle School in Orange County, California. Like many child predators / sex offenders, Axtell gained the trust of the child and her family. During a two month period in 2005, Axtell took the girl to hotel rooms for sex. The acts were calculated and planned. Certainly, Axtell knew that he was breaking the law but this did not stop his illegal and immoral acts.
USA Today reported on school killings in schools since 1983. A map published by USA Today illustrated school killings in elementary, secondary and post secondary schools across the nation. The map is interactive in that a reader can click on a geographic area or incident to find out more details on the school killings.
Police and law enforcement in Phoenix Arizona are conducting an investigation following the stabbing death of an 18 year old student. A Chandler high school teacher was in the center of a dispute / fight between her current boyfriend, who was also a former student, and the 18 year old according to police.
The internet and social networking sites are often times distractions to students. Yes, the computer is a tool. It is also a toy. Anyone online can get distracted from the work at hand and wonder off to other sites including Facebook and My Space. A recent study showed that college students using Facebook studied less and had lower grades than the students that did not use Facebook. The study was conducted by Aryn Karpinksi, a doctoral student at Ohio State University.
Parents, schools, and organizations rent bounce houses every day. Yes, bounce houses can be fun but they can also be dangerous. Bounce houses are known to be a common area where personal injuries to children take place. When renting a bounce house, parents, schools, and organizations should be careful in which company / operator is selected. The following issues / questions should be considered:
In Redding, California, a woman thought it would be a good idea to text message and drive at the time time. In fact, the woman was electronically paying her bills online while driving. Due to her inattention and the distraction as a result of texting while driving, Deborah Matis-Engle crashed into a line of stopped vehicles. As a result of the automobile accident, one woman died and was the unfortunate wrongful death victim of this avoidable crash. The victim, Petra Winn, was 46 years old and died as a result of personal injuries suffered when her vehicle bursted into flames after impact.