Articles Posted in Injuries to Children

In a few short years, social media has become an inescapable addition to our lives. Each day, one of the first and last things we do include browsing and sharing news and photos with our networks. While these habits are part of our daily routine, in the midst of a personal injury case, it’s advisable to pull away from those activities for some time.

Everything on the internet is public, including so-called “private” profiles. Considerable amounts of personal details can be obtained with a quick scroll over your page. Because all this information is available for general public consumption or for purchase, courts are increasingly allowing social media transcripts admission in court.

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The night of May 28, SWAT officers entered a Habersham County home. They’d received a tip about drug-activity at the house. Issued a no-knock warrant, the officers opted for the method of surprise. They burst through the door and threw a flash grenade into the house, hoping to stun and temporarily disable suspects. The grenade landed, exploding in the crib of 19-month old Bounkham Phonesavanh.  The SWAT invasion proved futile and tragic. There were no suspects and no drugs in the home.

The Phonesavanh family are not Atlanta natives. They are from Wisconsin and temporarily staying with family. Because the grenade landed directly in the baby’s crib, the incident left Baby Bou Bou, as he is fondly known, with an injured brain, collapsed lung, and disfigured face. Hearing of the child’s injuries, the Habersham county sheriff told news sources the police department would accept liability for coverage of the boy’s injuries.

Fast forward three months later, and Baby Bou Bou’s condition has greatly improved. However, his medical bills are rising exponentially and approaching $800,000. The Habersham County Board of Commissioners declared that they don’t intend on paying medical expenses. While they are fully responsible for the boy’s injuries, they did not give reasons why they are neglecting accountability.

It’s that time of year again! Swimming pools, beaches and water parks are packed with families eager to cool off in the stifling summer heat. While plenty of great memories are sure to be made poolside, it’s also a good time to remind parents and guardians of the dangers of water activities.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 10 people die every day from drowning which is an average of 3,880 people per year. After motor vehicle accidents, drowning is the leading cause of injury-related death among children of all ages. 90% of these parents say they were watching their children, however, were distracted by other activities such as reading, talking or taking care of another child.

It only takes a second for a child to get into trouble. Furthermore, drowning rarely involves splashing, waving and yelling as you might see in a movie scene. This is proven by the fact that half of all drowning deaths take place within 25 yards of a parent. Drowning does not look like drowning:

Despite the season or temperature, many in the South enjoy time spent outdoors, especially for grilling and camping. And as summer quickly approaches, the number of people engaging in fire-related activities will increase. Unfortunately, many will initiate such hoopla unschooled in fire safety guidelines.

Grills and campfires are the two most common sources of fire-related injury and property damage. Grills are fueled by propane or liquid petroleum, while campfires usually burn with wood or coal. In both instances, the fires created can lead to expensive property damage and disfiguring injury if not carefully constructed, maintained, and extinguished.

Summer staples like spray-on sunscreen and bug spray are also highly flammable, which can compound the risk of injury by fire.

At McAleer Law, we specialize in personal injury and wrongful death litigation. Unfortunately, mistakes made before you contact an attorney could hamper your ability to recover compensation. You can increase your chances of having a successful case and recovering damages with these 10 tips:

  1. Know your rights. It is important to understand the rights entitled to you by both the state and federal government. Use www.Georgia.gov to stay informed about Georgia’s legal system.
  2. Avoid dangerous situations. While we can’t dodge all accidents, activities that are deemed ultra hazardous are best avoided. Inherently dangerous activities categorize the participant as strictly liable and may remove his or her right to sue.

More than 1.5 million people are injured each year in the U.S. due to medication errors, and about 7,000 are killed. When doctors or pharmacists makes a mistake with prescription medications, the consequences can be fatal.

Claims for prescription errors are often based on simple negligence, but can be attributed to professional malpractice. The following are the most common mistakes made by both doctors and pharmacies:

  • Failure to notify patient of possible side effects.

When a loved one is in need of medical care, it is important to research all the options and choose a provider you feel comfortable with. Unfortunately, mistakes can happen, even with a carefully chosen healthcare provider.

Medical malpractice occurs when a provider, usually a doctor or hospital, fails to administer treatment that meets the customary standard of health care. Through medical negligence or misdiagnosis, malpractice may result in injury or wrongful death of a patient. In a medical malpractice case, the doctor, hospital, health facility, or government agency in charge of health care center may all be held accountable.

Recently, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs paid $91.7 million in malpractice claims, making this the largest judgment against a government agency in 12 years. Gross negligence, missed diagnoses, delayed treatment, and procedures performed on the wrong body parts were cited as the major medical mistakes of the government agency.

An estimated 2 million attacks occur each year with only 800,000 documented. While some breeds have the tendency for more aggression than others, animal attacks can happen anywhere, anytime. Sadly, many victims are under 10 years of age and dog bites alone make up for most child emergency room visits due to an animal attack.

Further, most dog bite attacks happen at a residence or in a neighborhood. In many cases, the dog owner’s insurance may be used to cover monetary damages such as hospital bills and pain and suffering. This allows a victim to seek justice against an insurance company rather than the close friend or neighbor that owns the animal.

In general, a dog with no prior bites or attacks will not be held responsible. The “one bite” rule is rooted in the law of foreseeability, meaning the owner had no way of foreseeing the attack, because one had never happened in the past. However, when a dog owner violates a local ordinance regarding animal control, such as not having her dog on a leash, the owner may be found negligent by failing to follow a safety ordinance- even when there is no evidence of a prior bite.   Many insurance companies and rental agencies already ban certain types of dogs, like Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, and Doberman Pinschers.

Choosing your child’s day care program can be frustrating, scary, and exhausting for both you and your child. How can you know that a trusted adult is watching over the children at all times? And for a child with food allergies, was the lunch meal double-checked to make sure no peanuts were present? The constant fear of bullying may also be present.

Daycare injuries are not all that uncommon, and if the daycare program has been negligent in caring for their pint-sized clients, they may be held responsible. No one wants to see a child hurt, and that’s where we come in to help. In the search to find a place where you know your child will be out of harm’s way, there are several tips to remember:

  • Consider your child’s temperament and health needs. For a child who requires special attention, a day care program that has enough staff to provide for these needs will be better.

When a parent sends their child to sports camp, they expect their young athlete will have the time of their life, make many new friends, improve on their skills, and be cared for properly throughout the duration of the session. However, when a child experiences serious injury in a controlled environment, like a sports camp, parents may have legal authority to sue the camp.

After having attended a youth wrestling camp last month, a young man from Tennessee experienced a traumatic brain injury. His father has decided to sue the camp for $600,000 in damages.

The two main liabilities for the camp in this type of situation are: