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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 […]
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 safety officer. These threats were made against another classmate. The school district contacted the parent of the other classmate, but did not contact the parents of the shooter or the one he killed. The Arizona Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s granting summary judgment in favor of the city of Phoenix, finding no duty. The Court of Appeals reversed summary judgment against the school district, finding that the district clearly owed a duty, and that the duty does not end at the edge of the campus. The Court of Appeals reversed summary judgment against the officer, finding sufficient factual basis that a jury could find that the officer was acting as an agent of the district.
Dinsmoor v City of Phoenix and Deer Valley USD
3 Students Injured Seriously in Bus Crash Near Wickenburg
The elementary school years are a bright spot in a child’s life, forming friendships and relationships with classmates and teachers, and learning valuable skills to carry throughout their lives.
They are often called the formative years because of their importance in the future well-being of an individual. That is why it is of crucial importance that a child feel completely protected throughout the entire time.
In this case, a school bus filled with children got in an accident, causing 3 individuals to be sent to the hospital with serious injuries. The accident happened at roughly 3:30 in the afternoon on the US 60 near milepost 99.
According to a spokesman for the Wickenburg Unified School District, the accident happened when a car driver fell asleep at the wheel and swerved into the path of the bus, causing the driver to take evasive action which unfortunately led to the bus rolling 4 times.
Three students were injured, one being airlifted to a nearby hospital and the other 2 being taken by ambulance. According to the spokesman, at the time of the accident, none of the students’ injuries appeared to be life-threatening, although no further details have been released.
In addition, the driver of the vehicle was apparently trapped by the accident, but no further details were released about them either.
ADA Protection for Children with Food Allergies and Negligent Serving
Anaphylaxis, the most common reaction to food allergies, can be serious and life-threatening. Anaphylaxis can cause a rapid onset of rashes, swelling of the face and throat, as well as serious neurological, cardiovascular, and respiratory problems. According the Center for Disease Control (CDC) 4 to 6 % of children under the age of 18 have a food allergy that can lead to anaphylaxis.
Children with a family history of asthma or allergies or a genetic predisposition for allergic disease are at greatest risk for food allergies. Young children, under the age of 3, are particularly vulnerable. The CDC believes that the rates of children diagnosed with food allergies appear to be on the rise.
The most common sources of food allergies include: dairy, eggs, fish, gluten, legumes such as peanuts, shellfish, soy, and tree nuts. A significant percentage, upwards of 18%, of children suffering from food allergies have allergic reactions to food given to them at school. However, now students may have legal protection under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The ADA forbids schools and businesses open to the public from discriminating against individuals with disabilities. Earlier this year Lesley University, located in Massachusetts, settled a lawsuit brought by the US Department of Justice alleging that the school violated the ADA by failing to provide students suffering from food allergies accommodations in its meal plan system.
Protection by the ADA is fairly new approach to protecting students with food allergies. Additionally, schools also owe a legal duty of care to the children that attend. Negligently serving or failing to warn students of allergen contaminated food when the school is aware of a student’s allergy can lead to liability for the child’s medical complications and injuries. Food manufacturers who fail to warn of allergens may also be liable for selling products with defective warnings.
Source:
Mary Clare, Food service vulnerable to food allergy lawsuits, Usatoday.com (January 18, 2013).
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.
Parents Call An Arizona Child Injury Attorney When Playground Turns Dangerous
When you drop your child off in the care of teachers at the school or a daycare center, you assume that your child will be properly supervised and that the playground equipment will be safe, in good-working order, age-appropriate, and designed to minimize the occurrence of potential falls and injuries. After all, isn’t it their job to watch over and protect the children who are placed in their care?
An experienced Arizona child injury attorney knows that playground accidents and injuries don’t just happen at schools and daycare centers. Accidents can happen when a parent takes a son or daughter to play in the local park or when a child plays with a neighbor in the backyard. An Arizona child injury attorney also knows that it isn’t necessarily a supervision problem that results in playground accidents. Defective designs, faulty manufacturing, and improper installation procedures can render playground equipment dangerous and the source of serious child injuries.
Arizona Child Injury and Safety Attorney Discusses the Dangers of Playgrounds
Nothing strikes terror in a parent’s heart more than news that his or her child has been injured and is in the emergency room after a serious playground accident. With children under the age five, injuries to the child’s face and head are more likely to occur during a playground incident. With children over the age five, injuries to the child’s extremities occur with greater frequency. Playground accidents commonly result in fractured bones (arms and legs), soft-tissue injuries, and lacerations. Unfortunately, playground accidents can also result in traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries . Any of these injuries can be severe, life-altering, and even life-threatening.
Most children’s injuries from playground equipment involve falls, so ensuring that the equipment is at a safe height given the age of the children using that playground is a safety essential. But there are many problems that can render monkey bars, swings, ladders, slides, merry-go-rounds, rings, jungle gyms, and playground equipment in general unsafe. Failing to replace or remove damaged playground equipment is certainly a safety concern for children. Maybe the school, park, or childcare facility decided to cut back on its expenses by skipping regular inspections or delaying necessary repairs, a painfully inadequate excuse for endangering any child’s health and safety. Maybe the school, park, or daycare facility did not have the appropriate shock absorbing surface under the playground equipment. Perhaps the playground equipment had inappropriate platforms without guardrails or protective barriers. Maybe the accident involved playground equipment that is not recommended for use on public playgrounds including: Trampolines, Swinging Gates, Giant Strides, Climbing Ropes, Heavy Metal Swings, Multiple Occupancy Swings, Rope Swings, or Swinging Dual Exercise Rings and Trapeze Bars.
Holding Responsible Parties Liable for Child Accident Victims
Whenever a child’s playground injury is the result of negligent supervision, defective equipment, dangerous playground conditions, poor maintenance, inappropriate use of materials like asphalt, cement, or hard-packed dirt, to name only a few possible hazards, the parties responsible should be held accountable and fairly compensate the injured party’s family.
There are a couple myths regarding playground child injury cases that need to be dispelled. First, some parents believe that if their child was injured while using the equipment inappropriately that there can be no recovery – this is absolutely not so. Although the value of the ultimate recovery may be affected, there still can be a potentially valid legal claim for compensation depending upon the circumstances of the incident. This is especially true of facilities that do not have sufficient staff supervising to protect against misuse for the number of children at the play area. Second, other parents may feel guilty and hold themselves responsible for allowing their child to play on the unsafe equipment in the first place – please do not let this guilt dissuade you from holding those responsible for the defective equipment accountable on behalf of your and other children. Holding the individuals, bureaucrats, and corporations that created the hazardous playground environment responsible and accountable not only helps your injured child and family recover, but also protects other children because your claim is a powerful deterrent against continued dangerous acts or omissions with respect to playground safety concerns.
When the Playground Becomes an Accident Scene
Arizona child injury and safety attorney Shane L. Harward has the experience you need to get fair and just compensation following your child’s playground injury. He has been fighting for the rights of Arizona’s injured children since 1995. When it is your child who has been injured, don’t delay – call 480.874.2918 today. When you need compassionate representation and aggressive advocacy from an Arizona child injury attorney, contact the Law Offices of Shane. L. Harward.
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The Arizona personal injury, accident, and insurance bad faith dispute lawyers at the Law Offices of Shane L. Harward PLC represent insurance, personal injury and accident victims throughout the state of Arizona (AZ) including, but not limited to, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, Tempe, Chandler, Glendale, Gilbert, Sun West, Sun City, Tucson, Flagstaff, Kingman, Bullhead City, Yuma, Lake Havasu, Fountain Hills, Anthem, Ahwatukee, Carefree, Cave Creek, Gold Canyon, Bisbee, Sierra Vista, Cochise, Paradise Valley, East Valley, Maricopa, Pima, Pinal, Gila, White Mountain, Heber, Payson, Prescott, Forest Lakes, Apache Junction, Avondale, Queen Creek, Benson, Black Canyon City, New River, Buckeye, Casa Grande, Coolidge, Cottonwood, Douglas, Florence, Gila Bend, Goodyear, Greer, Glendale, Lakeside, Guadalupe, Holbrook, Huachuca City, Oro Valley, Overgaard, Avra Valley, Parker, Peoria, Pinetop, Pine, Prescott Valley, Quartzite, Strawberry, Safford, Show Low, Sun City West, Sun Lakes, Superior, Surprise, Snowflake, Tombstone, Wickenburg, Winslow, Wilcox, Williams, Young, Youngtown, and surrounding areas.