In Hollywood and across South Florida, car accidents are an obvious and frequent cause of injury. Children who are in a car injured in a car collision can suffer from many types of serious and life-threatening injuries. However, a vehicle doesn’t have to be on the road for it to pose serious risks to a child.
Some of the less known risks to kids in vehicles include:
Each year, up to 20 people across the country die because they are trapped in the trunk of a car. Most of these incidents occur either with children playing around a car and getting stuck in the trunk or occur because a child or adult is placed in the trunk of a car during a crime.
Since 2002, it has been mandatory for cars to have trunk release handles inside the car’s trunk and by law these trunk releases must be glow-in-the-dark. Older cars may not have this feature. If you have an older car, you may be able to get a retrofit kit to make your trunk safer. Beyond this step, there are other things you can do to prevent trunk entrapment:
Power windows are a convenient feature of many cars, but they exert enough force to seriously injure or even kill a child. While many parents are aware of the importance of car seats or the dangers of car accidents in Hollywood and their communities, they may not consider that something as simple as a window can kill.
Windows can move up quickly and with enough force to crush small hands and arms. There have also been some fatal incidents involving children placing their head through the window and sustaining fatal injuries when a power window was activated. Since power windows are easy to operate, a small child may be able to make the window move easily. Children may have an interest in watching the windows move, which can mean they end up trapped.
In 2018 so far, there have been 35 fatalities caused by children being left behind in cars. These tragedies can be prevented, and it is especially important that parents in Miami and across South Florida be aware of the problem, since temperatures can be so high in this part of the country.
There are many factors which can contribute to this tragedy. One is that children are small and are usually kept in the rear seat for their own safety. This can make them easy to overlook in the rear-view mirror and when you walk away from the car, especially if they fall asleep. In addition, children are more susceptible than adults to overheating, so even a short while in a hot car can be fatal.
Carbon monoxide is an odorless and colorless gas which can be fatal. With no warning signs, it can enter your home and cause sleepiness as well as fatalities, so taking precautions is important. Cars are a major source of carbon monoxide and unfortunately, with our homes being more tightly sealed to ensure energy efficiency, carbon monoxide risks can occur in many homes.
You can keep yourself and your family safe by:
If your child has been in a Hollywood or South Florida accident, you may feel fortunate if your child has walked away without serious injuries. However, you still need to stay alert for the emotional impact of a car collision. Many children struggle in the weeks and months following a crash; some even develop depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, or other challenges.
To help your child, you will want to:
Frontover car accidents in Hollywood and Florida are devastating, especially since they often involve very young victims. These car collisions occur when a driver is moving forward slowly and does not see a pedestrian or passenger directly in front of the car. Most often, these incidents involve children, who may not be visible over the front hood of a car and residential driveways as well as commercial parking lots are locations where such accidents are especially common.
Each year, thousands of children suffer serious or fatal injuries due to frontover accidents. These injuries can be prevented in a few basic ways:
If you are pregnant, getting things to fit will eventually be a problem. This can especially be an issue if what you’re trying to fit is a seat belt.
Seat belts provide the best protection for all passengers in a collision. If you are expecting, a seat belt can save your life and your baby’s. However, the way you wear your seat belt will change, depending on your trimester. Wearing your seat belt incorrectly can mean a danger to yourself and your baby. If you wear your seat belt across your belly, for example, the sudden movement and pressure of the belt in a crash can push onto your stomach. It can cause the placenta to tear away or can cause other serious injuries.
Age-appropriate safety restraint systems are one of the best ways to prevent childhood injury to young passengers. If you are ever in a car collision in Hollywood or any Florida community, having your child in an appropriate safety seat can help them avoid more serious injury. It could even save their lives.
One of the best things you can do for your child when you drive them around is to buckle them into the right safety restraint system for their age. You should use weight and age guidelines, but in general you will want to use this guide to choose the right option:
If you have child passengers, age-appropriate car seats are one of the best ways to protect them. In the event of a car crash in Homestead or your community, a car seat keeps a child safe and prevents them from being ejected from the car or being thrown about the interior. This can help minimize head trauma, spinal cord damage and other serious injuries.
Children are unique because their bodies and spinal cords are still developing. This puts them at an increased risk of serious injuries, especially before the age of six or so. Age-appropriate car seat are designed to mitigate this risk in the event of a crash, helping child passengers improve the odds of surviving a serious car crash.
Florida Car Accident Lawyer Blog