Injuries to Minors

50 Million Roll-Up Blinds and Roman Shades Recalled Because of Strangulation Hazard to Children

December 16, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Window Covering Safety Council are recalling 50 million roll-up blinds and Roman shades because they are a potential strangulation hazard to young kids. A child can get seriously hurt if his/her neck gets tangled in the cord used to work the blinds and shades.

Since 2001, there have been three deaths involving the roll-up blinds and 16 near-strangulations and five deaths involving the Roman shades in the past three years. These shades can be fixed with a free repair kit. In the meantime, parents, guardians, and adults should take precautionary measures to childproof the blinds and shades by making sure that the cords are not easily accessible to kids—especially infants and toddlers. This includes making sure that there isn’t furniture close to the windows that children can climb on top of to reach the cords. If a cord reaches all the way to the ground, then it is important to make sure the cord is properly secured and taut. Another option is to stop using these blinds and shades.

Strangulation Injuries

According to Safe Kids USA, nearly 900 kids younger than age 15 die every year from airway obstruction. Most of the fatalities are children younger than age 4. About 17,200 strangulation injuries involving child victims occur annually. Most strangulation incidents take place in the home.

Products Liability

Window shades and blinds manufacturers have long been aware of the strangulation hazard these products have posed for young children. Yet they continue to sell their defectively designed products to consumers. How many child injuries and deaths must occur before manufacturers will stop producing these faulty furniture items?

Furniture makers can be held liable for Washington DC products liability or wrongful death involving injuries to minors.

Window Covering Safety Council Recalls to Repair All Roman and Roll-Up Blinds Due to Risk of Strangulation, CPSC, December 15, 2009
Blind recall: How to check if your Roman shades are safe, The Christian Science Monitor, December 15, 2009
Airway Obstruction, Safe Kids
Related Web Resources:

Window Covering Safety Council

Parent’s Guide to Child Safety

Preventing Washington DC Injuries to Children: CPSC Recalls 2.1 Million Drop-Side Cribs

November 24, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the largest recall for cribs US history this week. Along with crib maker Stork Craft Manufacturing, the CPSC is recalling over 2.1 million drop-side cribs. 147,000 cribs come with the Fisher-Price logo. 1,213,000 of the crib units were distributed in the United States. The rest of the units were distributed in Canada.

Some 110 drop-side detachment incidents have been reported in connection with the Stork Craft cribs. 15 of the incidents involved entrapment accidents; 4 of them resulted in suffocation accidents. 20 drop-side detachment incidents resulted in fall accidents. 4 incidents resulted in crib-related deaths.

The CPSC and Stork Craft want adults and guardians to stop letting their children use the Stork Craft cribs until they receive and use their free repair kit.

Drop-Side Cribs

While drop side cribs provide the convenience of allowing adults to lift and lower one side of the crib so that a child can easily be lifted and lowered onto the mattress, there have been numerous reports of injuries involving these infant beds. Assembly errors, design defects, and parts malfunctions have been known to cause multiple injuries and deaths. In the last two years alone, the CPSC has recalled over 5 million drop-side cribs.

According to InjuryBoard.com, crib accidents cause 50 infant deaths and 12,000 baby injuries a year. Parents may be able to hold a crib manufacturer liable for Washington DC products liability involving injuries to minors and children if their child is seriously injured or killed because a crib was defectively designed or manufactured.

The CPSC is looking at whether to implement mandatory crib design standards, which could result in a ban of drop-side cribs. Already, Suffolk County in New York has announced a ban that will go into effect in February 2010.

Infant Entrapment and Suffocation Prompts Stork Craft to Recall More Than 2.1 Million Drop-Side Cribs, CPSC, November 23, 2009
2.1 million drop-side cribs recalled, USA Today, November 23, 2009
CPSC to Consider Rulemaking Addressing Crib Defects, Occupational Health and Safety

Related Web Resources:
Major manufacturers propose ban on drop-side cribs, Chicago Tribune, March 18, 2009
What Are The Safety Issues With Drop-Side Cribs?, About.com

Stay Alert and Awake: Drowsy Driving Prevention Week Reminds Motorists to Prevent Washington DC Car Accidents Caused by Sleepiness and Fatigue

November 3, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

According to the 2009 Sleep in America poll by the National Sleep Foundation, about 1.9 Million Drivers are involved in drowsy driving car crashes or near miss accidents each year. Unfortunately, many people underestimate the power sleepiness can have in causing Washington DC car accidents.

Per the poll, 105 million US drivers have driven while sleepy in the last year. 54 million drivers drive while drowsy at least once a month.

National Sleep Foundation chairman Thomas Balkin says that while motorists are good at recognizing when they are tired, this doesn’t stop them from getting behind the wheel of a motor vehicle and driving. Balkin says that people mistakenly think that they can will themselves to stay awake but they often don’t even realize that they are falling asleep. Balkin notes that just one moment of “reduced awareness” can cause a motor vehicle crash.

Drowsy driving slows reflexes, reduces alertness, and impairs one’s ability to think clearly and rapidly respond to an emergency situation. A person who is sleepy or very tired while driving might inadvertently lane change, let go of the steering wheel, fail to notice traffic signs, not see other vehicles or pedestrians, drive off the road, or drive into oncoming traffic.

Drowsy driving can be grounds for a Washington DC injury claim or wrongful death lawsuit if another person is injured as a result.

In an attempt to decrease the number of drowsy driving accidents, the National Sleep Foundation has declared November 2 – 8 Drowsy Driving Prevention Week.

Ways to Avoid Drowsy Driving:

• Get a good night’s driving.
• Take periodic brakes (every 2 hours or every 100 miles).
• Don’t drink alcohol or take medications that cause drowsiness before driving.
• If necessary, stop and take a nap.

• Take caffeine if necessary.

.9 Million Drivers Have Fatigue-Related Car Crashes or Near Misses Each Year, Reuters, October 29, 2009
Drowsy Driving: Reduce Your Risk of Falling Asleep Behind the Wheel, Associated Content, June 27, 2006
Related Web Resources:

National Sleep Foundation

NHTSA

President Obama Bans Federal Employees from Texting While Driving

October 7, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

President Barack Obama has signed an executive order banning federal employees from texting while driving a vehicle when on official business even if the vehicle being driven is not owned by the government. The order, issued last week, is an attempt to lead the charge encouraging people to stop texting while driving.

Lawmakers, ordinary citizens, safety advocates, and police attended a two-day Distracted Driving Summit in Washington DC that the US Department of Transportation organized. Already, the District of Columbia has a ban on texting or talking on a hand-held device while driving. Unfortunately, there are District of Columbia motorists who still engage in this dangerous habit that can lead to catastrophic Washington DC car accidents. Not only is texting while driving against the law but, like drunk driving, this popular form of distracted driving can kill people and lead to DC injury claims and wrongful death lawsuits.

The Obama administration has given each of the federal agencies 90 days to figure out how to enforce his order. He also wants the agencies to ban subcontractors and contractors from texting while driving. Federal employees working in national security or law enforcement are exempt from the ban.

For purposes of his order, President Obama defines “driving” as operating a motor vehicle. Drivers that are stopped at a traffic stop or traffic light or for any other reason that requires them to engage with the flow of traffic even if they are in “pause” mode with the engine running are still “driving.” However, Mr. Obama says it is acceptable for a federal worker to text message if he or she has pulled over to the side of the road.

Distracted Driving Facts from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety:

• Driver distraction is the cause of 1 million North American traffic accidents each year.
• Although, per the 2009 Index, 95% of drivers think that texting while driving is unacceptable behavior, 18% of them still do it.
• More than 50% of the time a motorist is driving, he or she is engaged in at least one other task.
Obama enacts texting ban on federal employees, The Washington Times, October 2, 2009
The Facts about Distracted Driving – Know the Dangers/Avoid the Risks, AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety

Related Web Resources:

The White House

US Department of Transportation

Distracted Driving Summit Focusing on Dangers of Texting Opens Today in Washington DC

September 30, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

At the opening of the Distracted Driving Summit, US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said that texting while driving has become an “an endemic” and a “menace to society.” Over 300 people are taking part in the conference, including law enforcement officials, lawmakers, and safety experts.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 5,780 people died (16% of all deadly traffic collisions) and 515,000 people sustained injuries in distracted driving accidents last year. Many of these auto crashes are a result of people using cell phones and PDAs.

Distracted driving is reportedly a big problem among young drivers, especially those under age 21. Distracted driving was a factor in 16% of deadly crashes involving drivers in this age group.

Powerful YouTube Video Showing How Texting Teen Drivers Can Cause Deadly Car Crashes is Internet Sensation

September 15, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A powerful video excerpt (see below) showing the worst consequences that can arise when someone is texting while driving has become a viral hit on the Internet. The four-minute footage, shot in Wales, is intended to show teens why they shouldn’t text and drive at the same.

The footage has caught the attention of more than Welsh school kids and has been viewed online more than six million times. The video shows a teen driver texting while riding in a vehicle with two friends. Because she is engaging in distracted driving, her car moves into oncoming traffic.

What happens next is extremely disturbing to see. The footage shows harsh, close-up details, including one girl’s head crashing into a car window and a lifeless baby with eyes wide open sitting in one of the vehicles involved in the deadly multi-vehicle car accident.

Dad Files $200 Million Washington DC Personal Injury Lawsuit Accusing Lead in Water of Causing Twins’ Lead-Related Health Issues

February 18, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In Washington DC, the father of eight-year-old twin boys is suing the DC Water and Sewer Authority for $200 million. John Parkhurst says that his children have learning and behavioral problems because they were affected by the high levels of lead present in the city’s waters from 2001 through 2004. Parkhurst, who filed his personal injury case in DC Superior Court, hopes that the case will become a class-action lawsuit.

According to the DC injuries to minors lawsuit, when his sons were babies they were fed formula and food that were mixed with tap water. At age 2, the boys had a medical checkup that revealed signs of lead poisoning. Parkhurst’s complaint accuses WASA officials of concealing the fact that the elevated levels of lead in DC waters would eventually prove to be a serious health concern.

Just this year, a new study found that about 42,000 District children were exposed to high levels of lead in the city’s tap water from 2000 to 2003. Many of these children would have been under 3 years of age or in their mothers’ wombs at the time.

Hundreds of Washington DC Children May Have Been Exposed to High Levels of Lead in City’s Tap Water

January 27, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A new peer-reviewed study to be published in the Environmental Science and Technology raises worries that some 42,000 Washington DC kids, now ages 4 to 9, may have been exposed to high levels of lead during the 2001 water crisis. Many of these children were two years of age or in their mothers’ wombs at that time. According to experts, toddlers and fetuses are most at risk of suffering permanent brain damage from lead poisoning.

The study is based on findings from an analysis of thousands of kids’ blood tests from 2000 to 2003. In some DC neighborhoods, the number of infants and toddlers with blood-lead concentrations that could lead to developmental delays and a permanently lowered IQ more than doubled after record breaking levels of lead began entering the city’s tap water supply.

The addition of a new chemical to the water treatment is what caused the increase in lead concentration. In 2003, DC residents were warned about this problem and were advised to use alternative sources of drinking water.

The new study’s results are counter to what federal and DC officials have said since 2004 when they admitted that although the levels of lead in the city’s water were very high, they did not think that this would significantly impact people. Now, public health officials are claiming that they just didn’t have the information at the time to show that there could be a problem.

According to studies, lead poisoning can cause kids to experience a decrease in IQ, as well as exhibit aggressiveness. One reason that babies in the womb and toddlers are highly succepetable to injuries from lead poisoning is that their brains are not yet fully developed. They can also more easily absorb and ingest more toxic metal than older children and adults.

According to FamilyDoctor.org:

• Excessive levels of lead in a child’s body can lead to problems with kidneys, brain, or bone marrow.

• Lead poisoning can lead to behavioral problems, attention difficulties, learning problems, and a drop in IQ.

High Lead Levels Found in D.C. Kids, Washington Post, January 27, 2009
Lead Poisoning in Children, FamilyDoctor.org
Related Web Resources:

Environmental Science and Technology

Kids’ Pages, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

In Washington D.C., A 7-Year-Old Child Is Hit By A Car On Stanton Road

October 4, 2006 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Yesterday, A 7-year-old child was hit by a motor vehicle after she ran onto the 2900 block of Stanton Road. According to police, the child is being treated for bruises and scrapes. This is the second child pedestrian-related accident on a D.C. street in the last few days.Just five days ago, 4-year-old girl was killed by a truck.

In 2005, According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA):

· 64, 000 pedestrians were injured.