It is a Sad Thing that Preventable Injuries due to Harmful Products are inflicted onto Minors all too Often
As reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), falls, drowning, burns, poisoning and motor vehicle accidents (which is at the top the list) are the leading causes of unintentional injuries and deaths among children in the U.S. Every year, more than 12,000 children (aged between 0 and 19) die and at least 9.2 million more are injured due to these causes.
As dangerous as those mentioned above are the many different products that people stuff in their homes and, it cannot be denied, so many of what Americans purchase are often causes of severe injuries or even death. The thousands of injuries and deaths caused by these products can be verified through the records of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). These products include home furniture and décor, tools, children’s outdoor activity equipment, sports equipment, inflatable amusements, nursery products and children’s toys.
Between 2007 and 2010, millions of children’s toys were recalled by the CPSC due to the dangers that these presented, such as sharp edges that could cause lacerations, small parts that were considered as choking hazards, toxic substances and chemical contents that exceeded federal limits. The CPSC is charged with enforcing toy safety standards laws, laws that set guidelines on toys, like: the required sizes of children’s toys; the inaccessibility of the toys’ batteries and magnets to small children; noise and toxicity limits; and, the display of labels containing the possible risks of choking hazards.
One major issue with toys is that their labels often do not include their content or material. Since there are no laws regarding this, many local and foreign manufacturers, therefore, do not put on toys’ labels information regarding any possible harmful elements. This leaves consumers without any clue about the actual safety of the products that they buy (everyone can only assume that all products made available in stores are totally safe).
As explained by the law firm Mazin & Associates, PC, “Instances of child injury can be very frightening for all parties involved. It is a parent’s deepest wish that his/her child has the opportunity to grow up happy and healthy. Sadly, preventable injuries are inflicted onto minors all too often.”
The family of a child, who has been injured in an accident or due to the use of a toy or any other product that is proven harmful, has the legal right to file a lawsuit against the responsible party. In so many cases accidents occur and defective products continue to be manufactured and sold due to the grave negligence of some individuals. It would be wise to seek the help of a seasoned personal injury lawyer who will see to it that all the documents required in the lawsuit and that the child’s and his/her family’s rights and interests are strongly defended.
Read MoreSlip and Fall Accidents
A slip and fall accident refers to when someone falls, trips, or slips and is injured due to a dangerous condition on someone else’s property. Slip and fall injuries occur for a variety of reasons and can be very painful. Some common causes of slip and fall injuries include poor lighting, uneven flooring, narrow staircases, and wet flooring. Slip and fall accidents also include those injured due to a fall caused by snow, ice, an uneven sidewalk, or hidden pothole.
Slip and fall accidents can occur almost anywhere, but there some locations where these accidents are much more common. Some of the most common locations include grocery or big box stores, public parks, private homes, sidewalks, and workplaces. The biggest issue in regards to slip and fall accidents is that of responsibility. Determining whether or not someone is legally responsible for a slip and fall injury is particularly tricky. Each slip and fall case is different and legal responsibility depends on if the property owner acted carefully to ensure that slipping or tripping would not be likely to occur. The property owner may also be held responsible if they created the unsafe condition, for example making floor extremely slippery after waxing. The other determining factor of legal responsibility is whether the person who fell and injured themselves was careless in not avoiding the hazardous condition that caused the fall. For example, a customer who trips over a large display in a grocery store aisle will typically not be compensated for their injury since the displays are clearly visible and very commonplace in stores.
The best way to prevent slip and fall accidents is to simply exercise caution when walking in areas that may have dangerous conditions.
Read MoreMaking Drivers Realize Just How Dangerous Texting and Driving Really Is
Due to driving distractions, 424,000 individuals were injured and 3,154 lost their lives in 2013 ( in 2012, those who got injured due to distracted driving numbered only to 387,000). In 2014, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said there were 3,179 deaths and 431,000 injuries that resulted from 297,000 distraction-affected car crashes. Unlike drunk-driving, driving recklessly and overspeeding, which many drivers would not risk committing, distracted driving can happen to anyone – even to the most careful of drivers who are always concerned about road safety.
While there have been accidents which were due to factors that are beyond the control of drivers, such as defective car or car parts or defective or poorly maintained roads, highways and bridges, both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) of the NHTSA hold that 90% of all road crashes can be blamed on drivers.
Since 2012, texting and using a phone (whether hands free or hand held) while driving have always been the worst form of driving distraction in the United States and around the world. In the continues effort to show drivers, most especially young drivers whose age fall between 16 and 24, a non-profit organization in Belgium, called Responsible Young Drivers, for example, thought of a way to give new drivers a first-hand lesson on how dangerous texting and driving really is. By taking new drivers a driving instructor tells them that a new law required that Belgian drivers must first prove they can text messages (all in correct spelling and punctuation marks) while driving before they can obtain a license. What resulted in the actual texting and driving tests were lots of braking, swerving, swearing and crying for fear of not being able to obtain a license, and plenty of mangled orange cones along the driving course.
Hopefully the student drivers have seen and learned the effects of using a cell phone while behind the wheel and that it was enough to make them realize that, like drinking and driving, texting and driving is equally dangerous and can, indeed, result to road injuries and deaths.
Unfortunately, many other young drivers saw another thing from the posted videos (in Youtube) of the need to text and drive test in Belgium. Instead of realizing the dangers of distracted driving, one driver criticized those who took the tests instead, saying that they were texting the wrong way. They should hold up the phone above the steering wheel (like he always does) so they can keep their eyes on the road at the same time.
As explained by the law firm Evans Moore, LLC, one thing that can make car accidents so scary and so potentially dangerous is their unpredictability; you can be driving with the utmost attention and care, and still be unable to react to a distracted driver quickly enough to avoid an accident.
Car accidents can change your life in the blink of an eye and, wiith no way to prepare for such an event, families are often left without a way to address the considerable resulting financial damages, especially in the wake of the physical and emotional trauma you’ve sustained. Fortunately, you can pursue a legal action for compensation for the losses you’ve been forced to incur so that you can get back on your feet.
Read MoreSection 2422 (a) and (b) of Title 18 of the United States Code: On Solicitation of a Minor
Section 2422 (a) and (b) of Title 18 of the United States Code says:
a) “Whoever knowingly persuades, induces, entices, or coerces any individual to travel in interstate or foreign commerce, or in any Territory or Possession of the United States, to engage in prostitution, or in any sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense, or attempts to do so, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both;” and,
b) “Whoever, using the mail or any facility or means of interstate or foreign commerce, or within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States knowingly persuades, induces, entices, or coerces any individual who has not attained the age of 18 years, to engage in prostitution or any sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense, or attempts to do so, shall be fined under this title and imprisoned not less than 10 years or for life.”
Once a convicted felon is release from federal prison, he/she is required under the law to register as a sex offender for the rest of his/her life. Failure to comply with this mandate would result to a new felony offense that carries up to 10 years in prison and considerable fines.
The crime of solicitation of a minor, which is defined as the deliberate persuasion or enticement of a child under the age of 16, to enter any form of dwelling for purposes that include engaging in a sexual activity, can be committed by anyone despite not actually carrying out the sexual activity that he/she intended to commit. The mere attempt to solicit or entice a child is enough for one to be pronounced guilty of this sex crime.
As explained by the Nashville sex offense lawyers at Horst Law, this offense can also be committed electronically, through emails or text messages a computer a cell phone or any other electronic device.
Read MoreBenefits of Shopping Insurance Quotes
Accidents can happen anytime, whether you are driving responsibly or not. For motorcycle riders, it is doubly important to have motorcycle liability insurance to help cover costs of damages should they be involved in an accident. Just as with other states, motorists should comply with at least the minimum amount of insurance coverage to ensure that everyone involved in the accident is covered. Likewise, those who don’t have insurance may even face penalties and imprisonment after they are in a motorcycle accident.
Getting insurance quotes is just one of the many ways that you can have the best insurance coverage that you really need. Aside from complying with the minimum insurance coverage, it might help to add optional insurance coverages to ensure that everything is properly covered and financial issues can be solved easily when an accident happens. According to the website of Karlin, Fleisher & Falkenberg, when you have your insurance coverage, it is important to always keep your insurance ID in your vehicle. This ID is important and should be presented to law enforcement when they request for it, because it not proves you have insurance, but also that you are financially responsibly should an accident occur.
If you are unable to provide proof of your motorcycle insurance coverage or financial responsibility, then you might get legally penalized. This is a particularly serious offense following an accident; when you are unable to provide proof of your motorcycle insurance after an accident or a traffic violation, you might have your license plate suspended. After being in a traffic violation or accident, or after receiving an insurance verification letter, you are given a specific time frame (specified by your state) to provide your proof of insurance. If you are unable to show such proof, you will have to pay for a fine and reinstatement fee in order for your suspension to be lifted. Repeat offenders may have to wait for four months for their suspension to be lifted. Nevertheless, even with the plate suspension, the state still allows you drive other vehicles as long as they are covered.
Read MoreJoin our Circle
