Children's Injuries

October 22, 2007

AP Reports 2,500 Incidents of Teacher Sex Abuse

The Associated Press says that it has found over 2500 cases of sex abuse involving teachers as perpetrators over a five-year period.

Sexually abusing a child is a crime. In addition to trying a predator in criminal court, however, he or she can be held liable in civil court if the victim or his or her family is willing to file a personal injury lawsuit against the abuser. In certain instances, the school or the school district could also be held liable if they could have prevented the abuse from happening but acted negligently-thereby allowing the abuse to happen.

According to a recent AP investigation, many teacher-student sex abuse cases never get reported and the abusers will often have victimized more than one student. Over the course of its seven month investigation, the AP discovered that from 2001 through 2005, 2570 educators had their teaching credentials denied, revoked, sanctioned, or surrendered because of abuse incidents. At least 1801 of the reported cases involved young people. Over 80% of the victims were students. At least 50% of the educators were convicted for sex crimes connected to these sex abuse cases.

October 4, 2007

11-Year Old Massachusetts Pedestrian Dies From Car Accident Injuries

by Altman & Altman

11-year-old Dario Rodriguez, a Massachusetts resident, died on Monday because of injuries he sustained in a car accident.

Dario was struck by a car while he and two children were crossing Route 114 at Winthrop Avenue close to Veterans Memorial Stadium in Lawrence. He was rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital where he was treated for serious head injuries and later died.

The car driver, James Gianni, says that the motor vehicle in front of him stopped to allow the children to cross the street. Gianni says he did not have enough time to step on the breaks. To avoid hitting the other vehicle, he swerved into the right lane and hit Dario.

Police in Lawrence are investigating the fatal pedestrian accident. An accident reconstruction team with the Massachusetts State Police has been brought in to examine the evidence.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were 4,881 traffic-related pedestrian fatalities in 2005. About 1/5 of those deaths were child pedestrians, 5-9 years of age.

The CDC says that children are reportedly at high risk for sustaining pedestrian injuries because:

• Their small size makes them harder for car drivers, bus drivers, and truck drivers to see.
• Many young children don’t fully understand the way traffic signals work.
• Children are not able to correctly judge how fast a motor vehicle is going or how far away a car actually is from the pedestrian lane.
• Children and drivers can mistakenly assume that the other party is going to yield.
• Many kids walk to school.

Safe Kids Worldwide offers a number of suggestions of what children can do to stay safe on the roads:

• Don’t cross the street alone if you are under 10 years of age.
• Don’t play in the street.
• Walk on sidewalks.
• If you have to walk on the street, face oncoming traffic.
• Wear bright or retroreflective clothing so that drivers can see you.

Even if a child and his or her parents take all the necessary precautions to stay safe on the roads, there is no guarantee that a driver will not behave negligently or carelessly and cause a pedestrian accident to take place.

In Massachusetts, minors cannot file a lawsuit against anyone. The parents or guardian of a child injured or killed in a personal injury accident, however, can file a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit against any negligent parties.

Sixth grader dies from car accident injuries, Eagletribune.com, October 3, 2007
Safety Tips, Safekids.org
Why are Children at Increased Risk?, CDC.gov

Related Web Resources:

Facts About Injuries to Child Pedestrians (PDF)
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September 1, 2007

To Prevent Personal Injuries and Motor Vehicle Accidents in Massachusetts, Junior Operator License Law Calls For Teen Drivers to Spend More Time Driving With Adults

by Altman & Altman

The new changes to the Junior Operator License Law takes effect today. The revised law mandates that driving students must log in more driving time with driving teachers and parents.

Parents of teen drivers will also spend two hours in class learning about the driver’s education program. The changes will hopefully help teen drivers become safer drivers on Massachusetts’s roads so that less car accidents and personal injuries will occur.

Under the revised law, teen drivers will still have to spend 30 hours in a classroom studying driving. They will now also have to take 12 hours of driving lessons in a car. An additional 40 hours will have to be spent driving with a parent or another adult.

Not only are teenage drivers at higher risk for getting injured or killed in a car crash, but their experience on the roads increases the chances of other drivers and pedestrians also sustaining injuries in a motor vehicle crash.

The Registry of Motor Vehicles says that in 2005:

• 33% of all 16-year-old drivers were involved in a motor vehicle collision.
• 19% of all 17-year-old drivers were in involved in a traffic crash.
• 14% of all 18-year-old drivers were involved in accidents.

According to Teendrivinginfo.com:

• Annually, 7,887 (14% of all drivers) 15-20 year-old drivers are involved in fatal traffic crashes.
• Each year 2,008 16 to 17-year-olds die in automobile crashes.
• Crash rates are the highest for teens during the 1st six months & 1,000 miles after licensure.

Injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident can be very serious and costly, which is why you should speak to a personal injury attorney if you have been injured in a traffic collision because another driver behaved recklessly or negligently.

Junior driver license law mandates parental role, Telegram.com, August 30, 2007
Teen Driving Information for Everyone

Related Web Resources:

The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles

Teen Drivers, DMV.org Continue reading