Child Injury Lawyer Blog
By Scott A. Marks, Attorney and David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
In California and other States, children are at risk of injury from neighborhood dogs. Whether the dog is small or a large dog like a Great Dane, a dog is unpredictable and can attack a child without notice or apparent cause. Children often times do not recognize the dangers of dogs including the brief moments of tension just before an attack. Furthermore, because of their size, children, especially infants and toddlers, are ill equipped to fight off an attack or flee from an attack. A brutal dog attack was reported in Monrovia, California where an infant was attacked by the neighbor’s 170 pound Great Dane dog. It was reported that the six month old child suffered the following personal injuries: punctured liver, punctured lung, and two broken ribs. Due to the severity of the injuries, the child was transported by air to the Los Angeles County – USC Medical Center for medical treatment and evaluation. The baby is expected to survive the injuries but could have easily died from such injuries. You can read more about this story at Family Speaks Out After Their Infant Is Mauled by Neighbor’s Great Dane in California.
The Staples Center is the home of the Los Angeles Lakers NBA basketball team. The Staples Center is also the focal point of an investigation regarding the death of a 2 year old boy (Lucas Anthony Tang) who fell from a luxury suite while attending the game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors. The incident took place on November 21, 2010 when Lucas fell over a low wall in one of the luxury suites at the Staples Center. The fall incident took place from the third level top tier of the luxury suite just minutes after the game ended in a victory for the Lakers.
In California and other States, law enforcement officers often times send out public safety announcements. One issue that is often addresses in these public safety announcements is gun safety. Kern County California Sheriff Donny Youngblood recently spoke about gun safety and the tragic scenes that his police officers respond to. Namely, responding to a scene in which a child is shot “tugs at your heart” according to Youngblood.
Paul Sniffen, a 6-year-old boy, was finally identified as the boy who drowned in a public pool in Castro Valley, California while on an outing with his day care center. Paul was found in about 4-feet of water at the Castro Valley Swim Center, he was pronounced dead at Eden Medical Center. The Center has different pools including a shallow pool, which has a depth of about 2 1/2-feet, and a deep pool, which has a depth of about 12-feet. Paul was observed playing in the shallow pool and, sometime later, he had moved to the deeper area of the pool. It was unknown how well Paul could swim. The Sheriff’s Department is conducting an investigation regrading the circumstances of Paul’s death. If you would like to read more on this story see 
Steven Hayashi, 52, was arrested for child endangerment and possessing a mischievous animal that causes death or great bodily injury after his pit bulls attacked and killed a 2-year-old boy in Concord, California. Authorities say the victim was the step-grandchild of Hayashi. The child was inside the family’s home with two adult relatives and a young sibling when the child wandered into the garage of them home where the pit bulls were kept. The dogs mauled the boy, he was taken to a local hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
On June 17, the Supreme Court of California ruled a homeowner accused of negligently failing to supervise her son, thus enabling him to repeatedly molest a child at the mother’s home, may be entitled to coverage under her homeowner’s insurance policy. The California high court’s decision was unanimous and the court reasoned that because the mother and son were separately insured under the policy, the claim against the mother might be recovered, even though the “intentional acts” exclusion provision of the policy clearly precluded coverage for the claim against the son.
A 3-year-old girl was struck by line drive ball at a Dodgers baseball games. The ball was hit by Dodgers player Russell Martin during batting practice at Dodger Stadium. The child sustained a skull fracture from the line drive and was rushed to the first-aid station by her father. According to the Associated Press, a Dodgers spokesperson said the girl was scheduled for surgery at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, her injuries were not life threatening. Martin expressed sympathy and concern for the child and offered to pay for the medical expenses. To read more about this accident see