Articles Posted in Injuries to Children

Approximately 2.5 million people in the U.S. suffer a traumatic brain injury each year, with roughly 50,000 of those cases being fatal. Mostly, these injuries are caused by motor vehicle accidents, falls, being struck by or against objects and assault.

These injuries may be mild, but often result in severe and lasting consequences, including permanent disability or death.

For one teen football player in Iowa, the impact rendered him permanently disabled with severe brain damage and confined to a wheelchair. Now 18, he recently won a $1 million negligence lawsuit filed on his behalf against the school district for whom he played. It is believed to be the largest amount of damages awarded to a high school football player for such injuries.
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In Florida, it is possible to be largely to blame for one’s own injuries, and still collect damages from another party.

At first blush, this might seem unfair. But it’s worth pointing out one person’s negligent actions do not negate those of another – even if the latter contributed to the former’s injuries to a lesser degree. In a comparative fault system, each individual is only responsible for damages connected to his or her own actions. So if a person is 20 percent at fault, he or she will pay 20 percent of the damages.

This is a model that upholds personal responsibility, and does not bar those who incurred serious injury from seeking compensation for negligence simply because they played some role in what happened.
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Florida’s Third District Court of Appeals, allowing for a more liberal reading of medical malpractice laws in the state, has granted a mother’s petition to amend her complaint against three doctors she alleged contributed to her daughter’s profound injuries at birth.

Our Cape Coral child injury attorneys understand the justices reviewing the case of Exposito v. University of Miami School of Medicine determined the statute of limitations can be tolled in instances where the plaintiff was unaware injuries may have been the result of medical malpractice.

Here, the plaintiff asserted she didn’t know medical malpractice may have played a role in her daughter’s birth injuries, which includes cerebral palsy, seizures, cortical blindness, encephalopathy and spastic quadriplegia. The girl’s twin had been born healthy, and the mother said it wasn’t until much later that wrongdoing by the doctors could have caused her daughter’s injuries.
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A Lehigh Acres boy, 12, suffered extensive injuries after he was struck by a car recently on Alabama Road S. Authorities have indicated thankfully that the child’s injuries don’t appear life-threatening, though it’s not clear what his recovery time will be or whether he will endure lasting impact as a result of the crash.

Bicycle accident lawyers in Lehigh Acres understand that in this case, the driver of the car that struck the child will not be cited, as it is believed the child rode directly and unexpectedly into the path of the car.

Our fear is that as summer approaches, with more children riding their bikes around their neighborhoods, we will begin seeing more of these accidents. The Center for Urban Transportation Research with the University of South Florida reports that Lee County ranks in the top 10 in the state for number of bicycle deaths and injuries.

Florida has the highest rate of bicycle deaths in the country.
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Courts in Florida and throughout the country have repeatedly ruled that what you post, tweet or share on social media is discoverable in court. That means the other side can gain access, and use the evidence to their advantage – even present it to a jury.

This is true in civil as well as criminal courts, and those even thinking of filing a Fort Myers personal injury lawsuit would do well to limit any public discussion of it.

This was the issue that arose recently in a Cape Coral case, Root v. Balfour Beatty Construction, et al., in which defendants sought access to the Facebook interactions of the mother of a seriously injured toddler.
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Recently at a South Florida high school, cell phone video captured a fight that broke out among a group of girls. The teens traded verbal insults for a good five minutes before it dissolved into a physical fight.

In the course of the five-minute video, only one teacher is present and trying to address the situation. It isn’t until the very end that backup arrives, and this has raised serious questions about supervision and other issues.

Our Fort Myers injury lawyers know some 90,000 children each year must be taken to the emergency room after suffering some type of assault at school. Even though most child injuries that occur on school grounds are of an accidental nature, violent confrontations on school grounds between students are an increasingly serious problem.
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The content of a Facebook page maintained by the mother of a critically-injured Cape Coral boy will not be subject to review by the companies being sued for contributing to the boy’s injuries.

That’s according to a ruling by the panel of judges on Florida’s Second District Court of Appeals in the case of Root v. Balfour Beatty Construction LLC .

While the plaintiff in this case should consider this decision a victory, our Cape Coral personal injury lawyers recognize it as a cautionary tale to other complainants in all types of personal injury claims. The fact is that courts have at times ruled that social media posts, videos, likes, comments and even private messages may be subject to discovery by the opposing side.
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Unintentional injuries-such as those caused by burns, drowning, falls, poisoning and road traffic-are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among children in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are more than 12,000 people under the age of 19 who are killed and more than 9 million who are treated in emergency departments for nonfatal injuries each year.

Typically, boys are injured more often than girls. Injuries due to transportation were the leading cause of death for children. Our child injury attorneys know parents play a critical role in helping protect children from suffering tragedy. There are small and important steps that we all can take to help to ensure the safety of our children. It only takes a second to lose a young life, and it only takes a second to save one.

Motor vehicle traffic–related deaths were the leading cause of death for those under the age of 20.
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