Child Injury Lawyer Blog
By Kevin Leach, Attorney and David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
In Virginia and other states, the summer heat poses a particularly dangerous risk to children. A child left unattended in a vehicle is at risk for serious personal injuries including death from hyperthermia, heat stroke, and other causes. Parents, day care providers, teachers, bus drivers, and others should never leave a child unattended on a vehicle for any period of time. Children lack safety awareness. This is especially true for elementary school and day care children. Schools, day care centers, and summer camps should have a policy / procedure, checklist, and a check / balance system to make sure that no children is left unattended or alone in a school bus, van, or other vehicle. Setting policies and following policies will save lives. Taking shortcuts or relying on pure memory and attention can lead to serious personal injuries to children. In Richmond, Virginia, officials are investigating an incident in which a five year child was forgotten or left on the a bus. The student was supposed to be taken to Summer Hill Elementary School. It was reported that the driver as a substitute driver who failed to or forgot to check the bus when it was parked. This was a policy in place for the school district. It is great to have policies. It is also important to train drivers on these policies and for the policies to be followed. You can read more about this story at Richmond Prosecutors and Police Investigate School Bus Incident.
Christian Jaramillo, a 27-year-old man of Danbury, Connecticut was charged with risk of injury to a child. Jaramillo was baby sitting his 5-year-old cousin when he was arrested. According to police reports, the child was found by a passer-by wandering the streets alone. Because the passer-by could not find an adult with the child, she took the 5-year-old to the police station. Police determined the child’s mother was working and left the child with Jaramillo. Jaramillo was charged and released on a $1,000 bond. To read more on this story see 
Summertime in the south can be overwhelmingly hot. It is common for temperatures to reach well into the 90s with a heat index above 100 degrees. As the temperatures increase, the Louisiana Department of Social Services wanted to remind its residents of the dangers about leaving children unattended in automobiles–it can be deadly. Between 1989 and 2010, Louisiana DSS reported 16 children who have died as a result of heat stroke, otherwise known as hyperthermia.
The Michigan Supreme Court handed down a decision that may have an effect on businesses and schools within the state that offer recreational activities for minors. The Supreme Court of Michigan ruled that a parent’s signature on an injury waiver does not waive the legal rights of a child who is hurt at play. Essentially, a parental signature on behalf of a child binds the child to the contract. The Michigan Supreme Court said that parents do not have the authority to do such. The court’s decision reasoned that Michigan’s common law prevented a parent from entering into a contract restricting the rights of a child.
The recent pool drowning of a five-year-old boy in Springfield, Missouri should prompt parents, child care providers, babysitters, and others to be on high alert when watching their children at the pool. Safe Kids USA, a nationwide network that works to prevent unintentional child injury, estimates that drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death to children ages 1-14; 900 child deaths occur each year. A coordinator from Safe Kids, Daphne Greenlee, stated the most effective way to prevent your child from sustaining these types of injuries is to keep at watchful eye on them at all time – no talking on the cell phone, reading, or sunbathing. A Safe Kids report revealed the main cause of drowning was lack of attention on behalf of the supervising adults. Greenlee also suggested the “buddy system” as another way to prevent child drowning-related accidents. If a child is in the water he or she should always be with a buddy, whether it is an adult of another child. The buddy should know the rules of the pool such as no running around the pool and where the permissible diving areas are located.
A 14-year-old Greencastle, Indiana boy may have avoided serious injury after he collided with a vehicle late afternoon on June 7. The Greencastle Police report stated the 14-year-old was riding his bike when he crossed the driver of the vehicle, Glenn K. Hollis’, path. According to the police report, the child came into contact with the front driver side fender of Hollis’ 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix, was thrown from the bicycle, and struck his head on the windshield causing him to fall to the ground. The child was then rushed to the Putman County Hospital in an ambulance where he was treated for a head injury. Greencastle Police Department Chief Thom Sutherlin stated he believed the child was treated for minor injuries and was kept overnight in the hospital for observation reasons. Sutherlin said Hollis was not cited for the accident. You can read more about this accident at 
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.
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.
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.