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February 4, 2021

Appellate Highlights

Appellate Highlights Caveat – Any of the Court of Appeals cases listed may currently be on review pending reconsideration. Dinsmoor v. City of Phoenix and Deer Valley USD 1 CA-CV 19-0045 (6/30/20) A high school student shot and killed his classmate and then himself off campus. The classmate had previously reported threats to the school […]

 

 
CONSULTATION REQUEST
Note: All fields are required.

 I have read and understand the Disclaimer

from our blog

Appellate Highlights

Appellate Highlights Caveat – Any of the Court of Appeals cases listed may currently be on review pending reconsideration. Dinsmoor v. City of Phoenix and Deer Valley USD 1 CA-CV 19-0045 (6/30/20) A high school student shot and killed his classmate and then himself off campus. The classmate had previously reported threats to the school […]

 

 

Bounce House Injuries Becoming Increasingly Common

Bounce houses are a seemingly normal part of childhood. I imagine most adults nowadays have played in them at least a few times. They’re soft, light, and filled with air, so nothing should be able to go wrong with them.

Unfortunately as has been seen on several recent news stories, they can be very dangerous under certain circumstances. While a properly-grounded bounce house is fairly hard to seriously injure oneself on, one that is not rooted strongly enough can be picked up by a strong gust and launched into the air.

Such a thing happened just last month when 2 young boys were inside a bounce house that got blown up into the air, and they ended up falling from about 15 feet high. Luckily both boys suffered only minor injuries, but if the gust were strong enough, it could have been 40 feet high instead.

The truth behind bounce houses is even a little darker than that would suggest, as well. According to emergency room reports, bounce house injuries are very common, and are actually getting increasingly frequent.

Safety experts have been performing studies on bounce houses, and have found that the rate of injuries has increased by 1500% when comparing 2010’s data with 1995’s.

The reason these injuries are becoming more frequent is that not only are bounce houses more popular than they used to be, but they are often DIY kits sold at toy stores, and parents are simply not anchoring them properly.

Over 11,000 children are injured every year in bounce houses in the US alone. 20 states have adopted mandatory operation requirements regarding how deeply mounting stakes must be driven and how many attendants there must be at all times.

It is only a matter of time before the other 30 states adopt similar regulations.

Thousands of Child Abuse Cases Have Gone Uninvestigated

According to a homicide detective working with the Arizona Child Welfare Agency has uncovered a disturbing trend in case files: Thousands of them, spanning all different types of cases, have been notated “N.I.” which stands for not investigated.

All in all, there have been 6,554 such cases found so far, and all of them were determined to be wrongfully shelved due to either neglect or malice. Most of the issue stem from Child Protective Services (CPS) being intensely overworked in recent years, thanks in some small part to a child welfare hotline that was reorganized by Gov. Brewer.

This scandal is serving as a major blow to Brewer’s administration, although she has released a statement saying “there must be accountability in this matter, and I will insist on further reforms to make sure it cannot happen again.”

The real issue at hand is that Gov. Brewer now has to handle taking on all these cases at the same time, while balancing all other protective services and education into the budget. Thanks to a very slowly recovering economy, that is no small task.

However, some are saying that this situation could be a fantastic opportunity for Brewer and her team. Many people have been saying for a while that CPS is in need of an overhaul, and if Gov. Brewer can roll that together with the tackling of these cases, she could create a legacy that could last for decades.

Gov. Brewer has her work cut out for her, but now that she has focused on the issue, we should start to see resolutions fairly quickly.

Falling TVs Injuring More Children in Recent Years

When it comes to television sets in the U.S. today, the trend is – the bigger, the better.  Consumers can now grace their homes with TVs that have screens that measure seventy inches and greater.  The majority of households in this country have at least one TV, with many households having two or more sets in the home.

A TV is a great source of entertainment for the whole family, from mom and dad all the way down to young children.  Unfortunately this source of entertainment can also be a source of danger for children according to a recent study published in a pediatric journal.

In the past twenty years, approximately 200,000 children have been seen in the emergency room due to injuries received by falling televisions.  Most children injured are under five-years-old, and the most common injuries are to the head and neck.

According to the lead author of the study, these injuries are increasing at an alarming rate.  Dr. Gary Smith said that in 2011, 12,300 children received treatment in the ER for TV-related injuries.  In 1990, only 5,455 children received treatment in the ER for the same reason.  In twenty years, the injury rate for children injured by falling TVs nearly doubled. Since January 2012, at least six children have died from injuries due to falling TVs.

The study found that many of the children were injured by older, heavy TVs placed on dressers in bedrooms.  The children would pull out the dresser drawers, climb up, reach the TV and the set would fall over on them.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) states that as consumers buy new flat screen TVs, they move the heavier, older TVs into bedrooms for their children.  Unfortunately many times these TVs are placed on dressers and other furniture not sturdy enough to hold the heavy sets, and this creates a hazard for the children in the family.

CPSC suggests consumers anchor both flat screen TVs and older, heavier TVs to the wall or the floor with brackets or other such tethers to prevent injuries to their children.

Original story found here.

Kolcraft Stroller Recall

You are enjoying a beautiful day at your neighborhood park pushing your toddler around in the stroller, enjoying the warm sunshine when suddenly without warning, a piece of the stroller becomes a projectile and lacerates your leg.  Sound too far-fetched to be true?  Unfortunately, this scenario is real.

The U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) announced that certain strollers manufactured by Kolcraft have been recalled due to a projectile hazard.  According to recall information, the inner tube of one of the tires on the stroller can rupture, which then causes the wheel rim to fracture and fly off as a projectile, thus posing the risk of both bodily harm and property damage.

Kolcraft has issued a voluntary recall for the three-wheeled strollers.  The recall is for Jeep Liberty branded strollers manufactured between June 2010 and September 2011, with model numbers JL031 through JL036.  Owners of Kolcraft strollers can find the model number and date of manufacture on a white tag on the rear upper center of each seatback pad.

According to CPSC online, each stroller has “Jeep” printed on the side of the stroller as well as on the front of the stroller tray, and also has a plastic red toy steering wheel, ignition key and orange shift lever mounted on a yellow base attached to the stroller tray.  The strollers were manufactured in several different color fabric combinations.

Consumers have reported to the manufacturer and CPSC 39 incidents of inner tube ruptures which caused the wheel rim to fracture and fly off as a projectile.  Sixteen adults and two children were injured by wheel rim projectiles when inner tubes ruptured.  Injuries received included lacerations and abrasions to the chin, leg, arm, stomach, head and face, and two reports of property damage.

Fourteen of the incidents occurred while the adult caregiver was filling the tire with air.  Kolcraft warns consumers to only use a manual bicycle pump, not a gas station air pump, to inflate stroller tires to a maximum of 30 psi.

Approximately 96,000 of the recalled strollers were sold in the U.S. and Canada at Burlington Coat Factory, Sears, ToysRUs, online and at other independent stores during the recall period.

Kolcraft and CPSC warns consumers to immediately stop using the strollers and contact Kolcraft to receive free replacement wheels.  Consumers can contact Kolcraft at the company’s toll free line or at their website online for more information.

Original story found here.

New Safety Rules Take Effect for Play Yards

On February 28, new federal safety standards go into effect for infant and toddler play yards.  A play yard is a framed enclosure with a floor and sides of either mesh or fabric. A product that usually can be folded for easier storage and travel.

Manufacturers and importers of infant and toddler play yards will be required to meet these new federal safety standards:

  • To prevent a child from strangling, side rails must not form a sharp V when the play yard is folded.
  • The play yard must have stronger corner brackets to prevent sharp-edged cracks and to also prevent a side-rail collapse.
  • All play yards must now have sturdier mattress attachments to the play yard floor to prevent children from getting trapped or hurt.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has passed these new safety standards as part of the Danny Keysar Child Product Safety Notification Act, better known as “Danny’s Law.”  In Chicago in 1998, Danny Keysar died when a previously recalled play yard collapsed while he was napping, suffocating him.  CPSC passed these new standards to honor Danny and his family.

CPSC advises parents and caregivers who use a play yard for their toddler or infant to keep it bare of items because pillows, stuffed animals, or thick blankets can cause the suffocation deaths of infants.

When using a play yard for your infant or toddler, make sure you set it up properly according to the manufacturers’ directions. Only use the mattress pad provided with the play yard. Do not add extra padding.

And one more very important piece of advice from the CPSC, never place a play yard near a window with blinds, curtain cords, or baby monitor cords, because babies can strangle on cords.

Original article found here.

Children Injured Every Day By Tipped Over Televisions

The Consumer Product Safety Commission released a report estimating that 26,660 people are injured by televisions tipping over each year. About 59% of those injured are children. 293 children were killed because of fallen televisions from 2000-2011. In 2011 alone, 41 fatalities were recorded which is up from 31 in 2010 and 27 in 2009.

In response to these findings, the CPSC is urging parents to use anchoring devices on televisions to prevent tip over accidents. Televisions are not the only unseen threat to children. Falling dressers and other furniture account for about 48% of tipping related injuries annually. Overall 43,000 furniture and television tipping accidents occur each year resulting in severe bodily injuries. A large majority of the fatalities related to tipped or fallen furniture are caused by injuries to the child’s head.

The CPSC believes that the increase in television related deaths over the recent years may be due to the increased use of flat screen HDTVs. People often move the older, bulkier TVs to bedrooms where children are often left unattended. 40% of TV related fatalities occur in bedrooms while only 19% occur in living rooms.

The CPSC recommends consumers consider the following guidelines to prevent tip over accidents:

  • Furniture that can tip over should be anchored to the wall or floor
  • TV’s should be placed on sturdy low bases
  • Remote controls, toys, or other items that can attract children should be kept off tipable furniture
  • Freestanding kitchen ranges and stoves should have anti-tip brackets.

http://www.cpsc.gov/

Nap Nanny Manufacturer Faces Recall Lawsuit After 5 Product Related Deaths

The company responsible for the Nap Nanny is fighting a lawsuit by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to prevent their product from a forcible recall. The CPSC claims it has received approximately 70 complaints of the product, including 5 related to infant death. As a result retailers across the country including Amazon  Babies “R” Us, and others have voluntarily stopped selling the product and are allowing customers to return it for a full refund.

The Nap Nanny is distributed by Baby Matters. The CPSC attempted to convince Baby Matters to execute a recall of the product, but the company refused claiming that it is safe for the market.

These issues began in 2010 after a baby reportedly died from using the Nap Nanny; in response the product was recalled and redesigned. Baby Matters claims that although the deaths that allegedly occurred from the Nap Nanny were tragic, use of the Nap Nanny as directed is safe. The company believes that parents create a risk for infants when they neglect instructions and warnings by placing the device on a table or crib, or by failing to strap in their child.

The CPSC disagrees with Baby Matters and believes that the Nap Nanny contains design defects and warning / instruction defects. As a result, it brought a lawsuit last month to compel recall the product.

More than 150,000 Nap Nannys have been sold since the product was launched in 2009. Although many large retailers have stopped selling Nap Nannys, the product is still available at smaller retailers.

Baby Matters’ attorneys have called CPSC’s claims false and deceptive.

You can learn more about the litigation here: Lisa Stark, After 5 Deaths, Stores Recall Nap Nanny Recliners, ABC News.com (December 28, 2012)

Commentary from a Scottsdale Child Injury Attorney – Arizona Pool Safety for Families

The “Simple Steps Save Lives – POOL SAFELY” campaign was brought to Arizona families a couple years ago by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). By raising public awareness, the CPSC and the Law Offices of Shane L. Harward, PLC, hope to reduce the number of child-related pool accidents and drownings this year in Arizona.

From a Scottsdale child injury attorney, Arizona families need to be aware of the dangers associated with backyard spas, pools, and community pools, including indoor facilities. Here are some sad statistics from the CPSC to reflect upon:

— 96% of those involved in a submersion event will die.

— Among spa and pool drownings of children age 15 and under, 76% involved very young children under the age of five.

— Among spa and pool emergency department treatments for accidents involving children age 15 and under, 79% involved children under the age of five.

— Between 2006 and 2008, 72% of drownings involving children under age 15 occurred in residential areas.

— Between 2008 and 2010, the number of children’s pool injuries (age 15 and under) in residential areas was 55%.

These are the backyard pools found in many southwestern neighborhoods, including those in the greater Phoenix area.

 

Danger Isn’t Restricted to Pools and Spas, Says Child Injury Attorney, Scottsdale Arizona

Arizona drowning dangers are not restricted to warm weather, pools, and spas. The leading cause of accidental death among children between the ages of one and four is drowning in bathtubs, bath seats, and open buckets. Babies and young children can drown in only a few inches of water, so always supervise your little ones around any object containing water.

Here are some important water safety tips from the CPSC:

●  Never leave young children alone near any water or tub or basin with fluid.

●  Always keep a young child within arm’s reach in a bathtub. If you must leave, take the child with you.

●  Don’t leave a baby or young child in a bathtub under the care of another young child.

●  Never leave a bucket containing even a small amount of liquid unattended. Toddlers are top heavy and they can fall headfirst into buckets and drown. After using a bucket, always empty and store it where young children cannot reach it. Don’t leave buckets outside where they can collect rainwater.

●  Consider placing locks on toilet seat covers in case a young child wanders into the bathroom.

●  Learn CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation). It can be a lifesaver when seconds count.

 

Educating Parents and Adults about Pool Safety

It is important to hold accountable those responsible for pool safety violations, and to make sure the victim and victim’s family is adequately compensated, through legal representation from an Scottsdale Arizona child injury attorney.  However, it is more important to ensure future accidents, deaths, and injuries can be eliminated.

Arizonans who own swimming pools are responsible for using and maintaining fences, gates, and other safety features around private pool areas. Remember, whenever children are at play in and around a pool area be vigilant, make sure they are always properly supervised by an adult. Swimming pool and spa accidents can be catastrophic, leaving a child with head and brain injuries, fractures and broken limbs, spinal injuries, and severe lacerations. If your child was a victim of drowning or was injured in any way, then act now and call a child injury attorney – Scottsdale Arizona’s Shane L. Harward – at 480.874.2918 today.

 

Resource:

www.poolsafely.gov

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