Florida Injury Lawyer Blog

PET DOORS CAN CAUSE CHILD DEATHS

August 17, 2009 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

In April a little boy almost drowned in a swimming pool near his aunt’s house in the Ft. Myers area. Family members say that all of the doors were locked and the only way this young child could have gotten out to the swimming pool area was through an 8″ x 11″ doggie door. They found the little boy face down in the swimming pool, immediately started CPR and called 911. He was taken to Health Park Hospital where, after one day of intensive care, he was released in good condition.

Incidents such as this have now caught the attention of various drowning prevention groups and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) which believes young children watch their family dogs and cats going in and out of these doors and copy them. Although accidents of this type are comparatively rare, there is documentation of over 100 reported cases in the last 10 years. Last week the Wall Street Journal determined that this was a significant enough topic to cover in their “Health&Family” feature.

In August, 2006 another family in Florida lost their 2-year-old son, Matthew, when he died 13 days after getting outside through a pet door and falling in the pool. This family has been instrumental in making people aware of this little known danger. They have created an advocacy organization to get the word out. Information can be found at: www.petaccessdangers.org

Proper Installation and Use Critical to Child Seat Safety

August 14, 2009 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Proper Installation and Use of Car Seats Critical to Child Seat Safety An automobile accident can be a devastating, life-altering experience. But when the accident causes injury to a child, it is often due to the improper use of child safety seats in vehicles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, (NHTSA), estimates that deaths and injuries to children caused by car crashes could be reduced by 50% if every child passenger were properly buckled up. Sadly, many parents think their child safety seat is properly installed when it is not. Florida personal injury lawyers remind you that there are professional community resources available to help you ensure that your child safety seat is secured in your vehicle correctly.

The American Automobile Association, (AAA), has published some guidelines and tips to protect your children by making sure they are properly restrained in a child safety seat, according to their weight and age:

• Babies 1 year old and younger should be in rear-facing infant seats or convertible seats in the back seat of the vehicle. The rear-facing position supports the child’s entire head, neck and back and helps reduce stress to the neck and spinal cord in a crash. Age is the most important factor due to developmental issues. However, both age and weight requirements should be met before the child is moved to a forward-facing seat.

PIT BULL BITES A 5-YEAR-OLD CHILD IN FT. MYERS

August 12, 2009 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Dog bites and attacks are in the news again in Ft. Myers, FL. On August 6, 2009 the Ft. Myers Police responded to a call where a Pit Bull inflicted serious injury on a 5-year-old child. The dog had just been purchased the day before and has been turned over the Animal Control Services. Before and after purchasing a dog you should be informed. Look at the Center for Disease Control (CDC) web site http://www.cdc.gov/HomeandRecreationalSafety/Dog-Bites/biteprevention.html

for helpful information that may prevent more dog bites from happening.

The United States has almost 75 million dogs, including many that bite people. According to the CDC each American has a 1 in 50 chance of getting bitten by a dog in any given year. During an average year, 4.5 million dog bites occur in the USA and more than three-quarters of a million people require medical care.

M.A.D.D. and Associates And Bruce L. Scheiner Personal Injury Lawyers Caution Drivers to Be Alert for Impaired Motorists

August 10, 2009 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

M.A.D.D. and Associates And Bruce L. Scheiner Personal Injury Lawyers Caution Drivers to Be Alert for Impaired Motorists The efforts of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, (M.A.D.D.), among other factors, seem to be working in reducing the numbers of traffic fatalities caused by drunk drivers. According to National Department of Transportation, the number of overall traffic fatalities reported in 2008 hit their lowest level since 1961, with 37,261 deaths, and fatalities in the first three months of 2009 continue to decrease.

In Florida, however, the news is not so encouraging. According to a report from the DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov, published in June 2009, the number of overall traffic fatalities in the Sunshine State was 3,213 in 2007. Of those, 917, or 29%, were alcohol or impaired driver-related. For the year 2008, while the overall number was lower at 2,978, those caused by alcohol or impaired motorists remained at 29%, or 875 fatalities. As the numbers indicate, there is still much work to be done in eliminating drunk drivers from Florida’s roadways.

Personal injury lawyers have long supported organizations like M.A.D.D., and their grass roots efforts to keep responsible drivers safe behind the wheel. In Lee County, for example, Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner Personal Injury Lawyers worked closely with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and M.A.D.D. personnel to re-establish a M.A.D.D. Chapter here, with Bruce and Cheryl Scheiner personally donating office space for the M.A.D.D. Cape Coral location. “There is nothing accidental about a DUI – it is a crime that can have significant, life altering consequences for the victims of a DUI crash,” says Donald Murray, M.A.D.D. Florida State Executive Director. “Death and serious bodily injury can destroy a family. While Mothers Against Drunk Driving does not and cannot endorse any particular law firm, we are very grateful to Bruce and Cheryl Scheiner for their history of supporting MADD in their community, and for serving the victims and survivors of DUI crashes.”

Keep Your Children Safe as the New School Year Begins

August 7, 2009 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

With the beginning of another school year right around the corner, Florida personal injury lawyers urge all Florida parents of school-aged children to make sure their kids avoid potential safety hazards on the road to higher education. From school bus and traffic safety to exercising caution while on the school grounds, parents and kids need to practice some basic safety habits to help avoid serious injury.

AAA School Safety Patrol Program

The American Automobile Association, (AAA), has supported their School Safety Patrol Program for 87 years, with over 550,000 students participating in over 50,000 schools nationwide. Parents and school administrators can count on student patrollers to be stationed at various posts on and near school facilities, ensuring that their classmates get to and from their classes safely. AAA provides schools with all the tools and resources necessary to operate the Patrol program, and school administrators and Patrol Supervisors enlist the help of local law enforcement to develop a successful Patrol system. Not only does the Patrol program provide the means to keeping kids safe, it also teaches participating students life-long leadership qualities, important traffic safety rules, pedestrian safety, school bus safety procedures and how to identify potentially hazardous situations on or near the school property.

Easy, Rider

August 5, 2009 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Make sure to put safety first while motorcycling Riding a motorcycle is a form of personal freedom, but can be dangerous. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, motorcyclists are 37 times more likely than car occupants to die in a traffic accident. Whether motorcycling across town or across country, use the following tips to help stay safe:

Slow Down

Give yourself more time to avert obstacles like animals, road debris, children, or pedestrians in the road. Be better prepared to stop when a teenager or drunk driver ignores a stop sign. Cornering on sandy pavement is treacherous if you’re riding too fast.

Democrats Propose Nationwide Ban on Texting While Driving

July 31, 2009 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

A group of Democratic lawmakers in Washington are pushing for a nationwide ban on the dangerous habit of sending and viewing text messages on cell phones and other personal electronic devices while driving. They are hoping to get those states that do not currently have such laws on their books to act by withholding a percentage of highway funding. Senator Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., who unveiled the legislation Wednesday along with Democrats Robert Menendez of New Jersey, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Kay Hagan of North Carolina, makes his case by saying, “When drivers have their eyes on their cell phones instead of the road, the results can be dangerous and even deadly,”

14 states already have passed legislation making texting while driving illegal, but 36 others, including Florida, have yet to sign such a law into effect. There are critics who question the enforceability of the proposed law, and whether current available research even warrants one in the first place. Still others think that current reckless driving statutes already in place would apply to those caught texting behind the wheel. The agency that represents state highway safety agencies, The Governors Highway Safety Association, thinks the dangers of texting while driving are real, yet does not support the law based on the fact they feel it would be difficult to enforce. According to Vernon Betkey, the highway safety association’s chairman, “Highway safety laws are only effective if they can be enforced, and if the public believes they will be ticketed for not complying. To date, that has not been the case with many cell phone restrictions.”

Studies Show The Need…

Texting while driving

July 29, 2009 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Texting can cause fatal car crashes With the advent of cell phone technology comes a new hazard to motorists on our nation’s roads – “texting” while driving is quickly becoming a prominent and extremely hazardous threat to driver safety. According to USA Today, 14 states now have laws on the books banning the sending or viewing of text messages on cell phones or other electronic personal communication devices, with many more now proposing similar restrictions. Many have also advocated a federal ban.

It is not only teens or younger drivers who are guilty of this offense. Florida personal injury lawyers are cautioning that drivers of all ages and walks of life are likely to cause a serious or even fatal auto crash due to being distracted behind the wheel. Often referred to as “DWT”, driving while texting can be as serious an offense as drunk driving, and state legislators across the country are taking a proactive position to prevent the practice.

A bill is making its way through the Florida Legislature that would prohibit sending cell phone text messages while driving. According to the Associated Press, the text messaging ban was added onto a bill sponsored by Florida Senator Carey Baker, (R-Eustis), that would make it illegal for minors to talk on a cell phone while driving. If the ban goes through, Florida would join other states in cracking down on texting while driving. Similar bills have been proposed, but have not passed, and this one still has a long way to go before it becomes law. Not surprisingly, lobbyists and representatives for the Florida Telecommunications Industry Association feel that their industry is being unfairly singled out, and are attempting to counter any laws being passed that they feel are too specific or restrictive.

Poor vision can lead to serious traffic accidents

July 27, 2009 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Poor vision can lead to serious accidents A 2004 Florida law requiring that older drivers pass a vision test before getting a license renewed has helped cut the death rate among drivers aged 80 and older by 17%, according to researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Driving is often vitally important for seniors. Several studies have shown that taking the keys from elderly drivers who have no other transportation can cause them to become depressed or inactive, lose access to health care and even die sooner. However, Florida injury lawyers remind drivers of all ages that proper vision can be a key factor in preventing serious car crashes.

“While it is true that poor vision in a driver of any age can be the cause of a serious auto accident, the number of senior-aged drivers in Florida makes this an important safety concern on our roadways”, notes Bruce L. Scheiner, of Associates & Bruce L. Scheiner Personal Injury Lawyers.

For Florida drivers over 80 years old, the vision test may be taken at a Florida driver license office at no additional charge, with an appointment made in advance, according to the Florida Department of Safety and Motor Vehicles. Another option is to have a doctor licensed to practice in Florida administer the vision test – out-of-state doctors are not authorized to provide this test. He or she must be a medical doctor, osteopathic physician, or an optometrist. If a doctor administers the vision test, a Mature Driver Vision Test, (Form HSMV 72119), must be completed and submitted to the department. The doctor may also file the form electronically to the agency’s web site, http://www.flhsmv.gov/. If the test reveals a problem, the driver will be requested to have an eye specialist licensed in the state of Florida complete a Report of Eye Examination, (Form HSMV 72010), and submit it to the department prior to renewing their license.

Playground safety tips help prevent children’s injuries

July 23, 2009 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Watching your kids enjoy the slides, swings and other equipment at your favorite park or playground can be some of parenthood’s most rewarding moments. But Florida injury lawyers remind you that safety should be your first priority to ensure your child does not suffer a serious injury while at play.

“During the summer, playgrounds and parks in the area are very popular places for families to spend time”, says attorney PJ Scheiner of Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner Personal Injury Lawyers. “It only takes a second for a child to suffer a serious injury from inadequately maintained or faulty playground equipment.”

Emergency rooms across the country treat more than 200,000 children 14 years of age or younger for playground-related injuries, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most of those occur at public playgrounds, including schools and day care centers. Additionally, according to a new Children’s Hospital Medical Center of Cincinnati study of emergency department visits throughout the United States, injuries due to falls from playground equipment result in higher proportion of severe injuries than either bicycle or motor vehicle crashes.