By David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
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.
Five people were arrested in a Vermont home that operated as day care center. Police seized cocaine and marijuana plants from the home operated day care. The day care center’s operator, Kelly Vitagliano, was arrested. Vitagliano was ordered to appear in court to answer criminal charges of cocaine possession. The other four people involved with this incident face charges of drug possession and drug sale. Police affidavits detail a three month investigation that led to the seizure of the cocaine and marijuana plants. Vitagliano’s day care license has been suspended. The day care center supervised at least four children.
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A Texas state inspection revealed that in April 2008, staff workers at Daystar, a center for distressed children 30 miles south of Houston, provoked seven developmentally disabled girls into a fight. The staged fight resulted in biting and bruising as the staff members laughed and cheered on the spectacle. If the fight is not disturbing enough, no criminal indictments were sought against the perpetrators nor did Texas lawmakers press a state agency for answers about how this despicable act could have occurred. Instead, two staffers were quietly fired and their names have been kept secret by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS).