Item: Flaxman Law Group
Rating: 5
Author: Clara Barman

Using Your Car Seat Properly to Prevent Child Injury in South Florida Car Crashes

Published on: February 7, 2017 | By Flaxman Law Group

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.

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Using a Car Seat Safely

Published on: December 18, 2015 | By Flaxman Law Group

Buying a new car seat for your child is one of the first purchases you may make as you plan on a new addition to your family. While using a car seat is the law in Hollywood and across Florida and while parents understand the importance of having a car seat, having the safety device is not enough. To prevent infant and child injuries in a Hollywood car accident, you need to use the car seat correctly.

Statistics show a significant portion of families do not use car seats in a way that will offer the child maximum protection in a crash. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), for example, 75% of car seats are not installed properly. Using a car seat incorrectly can be as dangerous as not using one at all.

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Buying a Safe Baby Seat

Published on: December 4, 2015 | By Flaxman Law Group

A good safety restraint system for your child is the best way to protect your child in the event you are in an accident. While you are driving your child around to school, preschool, or doctor’s appointments, a baby seat or booster seat helps keep them safe. If you are ever in a car accident in Hollywood or any community, a safety restraint system will keep your child from being thrown from the vehicle or from being tossed around inside your car, preventing injury or reducing the severity of injury.

In Florida, baby seats are the law. They’re also just good parenting sense, but with so many options on the market today many parents are confused about which products to buy. The most important thing is to buy the best seat you can and to have it installed and used correctly every time your child is driven somewhere.

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Chronic Back Pain After a Car Accident

Published on: September 4, 2015 | By Flaxman Law Group

Many people who are in car accidents in Hollywood and South Florida suffer from back injury. In some unfortunate cases, survivors experience chronic back pain, which can change their lives forever. Chronic back pain is serious pain to the back or lower back area lasting three months or more. In some cases, the pain can be debilitating. In these situations, is it important to get excellent medical advice and to pursue compensation so that patients can get the medical support they need.

One of the most devastating things about back pain is that it can take a long time to diagnose. Patients may be told that their severe back pain will go away. It may take months to realize that the condition is long-term or even permanent. Unfortunately, by that time some patients have accepted insurance claim money. By the time they realize that their medical treatment will be much more expensive and involved than they believed, they may have limited their rights to pursue additional benefits.

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Safe Driving Tips for Drivers Under 5’4

Published on: January 29, 2015 | By Flaxman Law Group

According to at least one study, drivers below or above average height may have an increased risk of car accident injuries. One reason may be because drivers below average height sit closer to the steering wheel. Safety experts recommend keeping at least ten inches between the driver or passenger and the dashboard so that air bags can work properly. When drivers sit closer, they can be injured when an airbag detonates.

Adults that are below average height also face some of the same challenges as children when they are in a car accident in Homestead or their community. Seat belts can cut into their neck and chest areas, potentially causing injuries in an accident. Seat belts can fail to restrain them. Drivers who are below average height may also have a hard time seeing the road correctly because of their car’s design, and this can increase the chances of an accident.

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How to Help Your Child Adjust to New Car Seat Rules

Published on: January 16, 2015 | By Flaxman Law Group

Florida’s new car seat rules went into effect at the start of the month. These new rules require children under the age of 6 to use a booster seat when riding in a car. Before the law came into effect, Florida was one of only two states not to have booster seat legislation.

According to the Florida Safety Council and other safety experts, the new law is a step in the right direction in keeping children safe in cars. Many children who are too tall or heavy car seat still cannot use seat belts safely. Seat belts are designed for adults. Children who use them could be seriously injured in a car accident. If a young child is wearing a seat belt during a car crash in Hollywood or any Florida community, a seat belt can cut into their neck, face, or chest. In some cases, it may fail to restrain the child correctly, leading to serious injury.

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Why is the Buckle-Up Message Not Reaching Drivers in Coral Springs and Florida?

Published on: September 26, 2014 | By Flaxman Law Group

In Florida, all drivers are required to buckle their seatbelts before driving. They are also required to ensure that any children in their car are correctly buckled up. An investigation by a Florida news station, however, has found that many drivers are not protecting themselves in the event of a car accident in Coral Springs or their community because they are not using their seat belts.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, about 13% of Florida drivers do not buckle up. That number is even higher among child passengers in South Florida. This is especially dangerous since statistics show that passengers correctly wearing seat belts are up to 45% less likely to be seriously injured in a roadway collision. In most traffic accidents, being thrown from the vehicle is what causes serious injury most often. In fact, statistics suggest that a passenger thrown from a vehicle has a 79% chance of sustaining fatal injuries.

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Are You Ready for the New Booster Seat Law in Homestead and Florida?

Published on: September 19, 2014 | By Flaxman Law Group

A new booster seat law will take effect at the start of the new year across Florida. This law, passed last spring, will require children under the age of 5 to be secured in a federally-approved, crash-tested child safety seat each time they are in a car. The law is meant to reduce the number of child injuries in Homestead and Florida caused by traffic injuries.

While January seems a long time away, this is a good time to buy an age-appropriate child safety restraint system and to learn to use it properly. Even if your child is above the age of 5, using a restraint system correctly can help reduce the chances that your child will be seriously injured in a car accident. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), car seats can reduce infant fatalities by about 70% and can reduce toddler fatalities by 54%. Even before the January 1 deadline, it is a good idea to install and use a child safety restraint system correctly. If you are ever in a car accident in Homestead or your community, this simple precaution can save your child from serious harm.

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Devices That Could Prevent Child Injury in Cars

Published on: August 7, 2014 | By Flaxman Law Group

Child injury in Homestead and other communities is often linked to cars. Not only are car accidents one of the leading causes of injuries and fatalities for young children, but cars themselves pose a risk to children – even if the cars are not moving. Each summer, for example, there have been instances of children dying of heat stroke and hyperthermia after inadvertently being left alone in a hot car.

There are a number of safety devices that can be used to help combat the problem, according to experts:

Motion and heat sensors. These sensors can be installed in a car seat and sense movement or heat, alerting parents when their child is left behind in the car. There are now many brands and models of the devices.

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Florida Has Changed Its Car Seat Laws

Published on: July 29, 2014 | By Flaxman Law Group

A recent Florida law passed by Gov. Rick Scott will require parents to use a car seat for their children until the child reaches the age of five. Previously, parents were allowed to use seat belts for children once they turned four, even though safety experts have noted that children should be kept in age-appropriate safety seats until they outgrow them.

Does the new law do enough to prevent child injury in Miami and other Florida communities?

Safety experts and pediatricians praise the legislation, but many say that the law may not go far enough. One problem that safety experts note is that under the new law, children are exempt from the car seat rule if the driver is not an immediate family member. This means that if a caregiver or relative is driving the child, they may not need to use a safety restraint system intended for children, and experts agree that in order for safety seats to be effective they must be used each time a child is transported by car. A car collision in Miami or another community, after all, can happen at any time.

Another problem is that age five might still not be old enough to place a child in a seat belt. Seat belts are very effective in preventing head injuries in Miami and other communities in car crashes because they keep passengers in the car and prevent passengers from being ejected through the windshield. The problem is that seat belts at designed for adults. On a small child, the seat belt can dig into the child’s chest or beck, causing deep cuts or even internal injuries. A seat belt may also not fit a smaller child correctly, offering scant protection in a collision. Experts agree that children face more risks in a car collision when compared with adult passengers and should be kept in age-appropriate safety restraint systems until their age and weight exceed safety seat maximums.

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