Staten Island, New York Child Injury Lawyer Blog | Brooklyn Child Accident Attorney » child injury

Drop-Side Cribs in Urgent Recall

Frank Dito — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:13:45 +0000

The U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Stork Craft Manufacturing, Inc., announced a voluntary recall of more than 2.1 million Stork Craft drop-side cribs.

The CPSC urges parents and caregivers to immediately stop using the recalled cribs and to contact Stork Craft at (877) 274-0277. The company will send a repair kit that will convert your crib from a drop sided to a fixed sided crib. Do not use the crib until the repair kit has been properly installed.

The cribs were constructed of poor materials, notably plastic, that held up the drop-side of the crib. Also, the drop-side could be easily installed upside down, causing the hardware to break. These problems can cause the drop-side to detach, creating space between the drop-side and the mattress. The space can entrap infants and toddlers, causing possible suffocation. In cases where the drop-side detaches, children can fall out of the crib.

Please stop using the crib immediately! The problems with these cribs have already led to the death of 4 infant children by suffocation. Although some of the cribs have the Fisher-Price label, usually a sign of quality, they are still extremely dangerous. Despite the cost of these cribs and the belief that you purchased a safe crib, manufacturers still try to cut corners and manufacture cribs with the cheapest hardware, not the best or the strongest. Such cost-cutting action puts our children’s lives at an unreasonable risk of harm and the government should strictly monitor the initial design and manufacture, not come riding in after children have already died.

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Halloween T.O.T Safety Program

Frank Dito — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:05:03 +0000

With Halloween just around the corner, the dangers present should become all too apparent. Selecting the right costume, which children want to start buying in August, can help to make a safe Trick or Treat. Children love to wear masks. The problem is that most masks severely restrict a child’s vision. If it doesn’t fit well, children will also devote most of their attention to adjusting the mask when they should be paying attention to crossing the street. When trick or treating at night, while wearing a dark costume, small children are very difficult to see. I recommend that a child hold a small flashlight or glow stick so that they are visible to drivers. We all need to do our part to help make Halloween safe. My frm has started a T.o.T. (Trick or Treat) Halloween Safety Program. We are giving away free reflective Trick or Treat bags and safety glow sticks, as well as a free report, “Halloween Safety Tips”, that you can download and learn simple tips to help make Halloween safe for all involved. You can access the free report and participate in the T.o.T. Safety program by clicking on the link, T.O.T. Safety Program.

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Unseen dangers lurking in the pool?

Frank Dito — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 20:23:57 +0000

Based upon the title of this post, most people fear the danger to be some high levels of bacteria present in their community or swim club pool. However, the danger lies not in the water but on the bottom of the pool, in the form of the pool drain. The design of most pools includes a single high-volume drain, with a flat cover, flush to the bottom of the pool. The design allows the human body to obstruct the drain, causing great suction which can hold the person or their hair to the bottom of the pool, sometimes with hundreds of pounds of force. Numerous tragic drownings like this occurred throughout the United States over the last 10 years that have brought the danger to the forefront. In 2007, President Bush signed the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act into law. The law is named after the late granddaughter of former Secretary of State James Baker. 7-year old Virginia died when she became trapped underwater in a swimming pool while at a friend’s pool party. The suction at the pool drain was so great that despite the efforts of two grown men, it took 10 minutes to free Virginia. By that time, it was too late to avoid a tragedy.

The Act mandates that as of December 2008, all public pools and spas meet anti-entrapment safety standards issued by the Consumer Products Safety Commission. The standards require that all pool drain covers be designed to prevent body, limb or hair entrapment. The drain covers on most public pools are flat and flush with the bottom of the pool. If a person blocked the drain, the suction could be amplified, trapping the person underwater with hundreds of pounds of force. The new drains are designed to allow water to continue to flow into the drain, reducing the suction and allowing the person to return to the surface. In addition to the drain covers, public pools must be equipped with automatic shutoff valves or other devices designed to prevent the risk of injury or death associated with pool drainage systems. The Act goes so far as to provide safety standards for the construction of new pools, mandating pool drains that reduce the possibility of drowning.

The Act is absolutely necessary step as drowning is the 2nd leading cause of children under 14 years of age. Despite it’s good intentions, my concern is the enforcement of the Act. As of very recently, many people responsible for public swimming pools were not even aware of the requirements of the Act. Remember, a “public pool” under the Act includes the pool in the Heartland Village, the pool at the Island Swim Club, or even the pool in the Hilton Garden Inn hotel. Staten Island is filled with numerous other pools that fall under the “public” banner but there is no central website to determine if the Act has been complied with. I know of no document that a pool is required to display to certify their compliance with the Act. How do you know if the pool you are entering is safe? The best prevention is to always supervise your children when they are in the pool. Know where the pool drains are located and make sure your children stay away from them. Only a parents ever-vigilant supervision can truly prevent a child from suffering a severe injury or even death.

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Car Seat Safety

Frank Dito — Sat, 30 May 2009 02:13:29 +0000

As an attorney and father of two young children, nothing angers me more than an incorrectly installed car seat. I have seen firsthand how a car accident can wreck so many lives. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration reports that car accidents are the leading cause of death among children in the United States, but many of these deaths can be prevented. Placing children in age– and size–appropriate car and booster seats reduces serious and fatal injuries by more than half.

What You Can Do To Keep Your Child Safe:

Seat all children ages 12 and younger in the back seat and be sure they are properly restrained every time they ride with you–even during those quick trips to CVS, which Staten Island has far too many of.
Read the instructions to make sure you are properly installing and using the seat. One study found that 73% of nearly 3,500 observed child restraint systems were misused in a way that could increase a child’s risk of injury in an accident.
Send in your car seat registration card so that the manufacturer can contact you about any recalls. You can also call the NHTSA Auto Safety Hotline at (888) 327–4236 to find out about recalls.
Replace any car seat that was used during a car accident. They are made of styrofoam that compresses in an accident, making them one-time use only.
When choosing a car or booster seat, it’s important to find one that is age–and size– appropriate and fits in your car.
Children should start using a booster seat when they grow out of their child safety seats (usually when they weigh about 40 pounds). They should continue to ride in a booster seat until the shoulder belts in the car fit properly, typically when they are about 4′9″ tall.

Booster seats have been shown to reduce injury risk by 59% compared to safety belts alone, for children ages 4 to 7.

If you have any question or concerns about the installation of your car seat, stop by your local firehouse and ask for free inspection or use the following link to find a Child Safety Seat Inspection Center near you. On Staten Island, the Staten Island Safety City Learning Center is open Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. It could be the most important 10 minutes that you spend.

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Falling Flat Screen TV’s Pose New Danger to Children

Frank Dito — Wed, 13 May 2009 01:18:18 +0000

The proliferation of readily affordable large flat-panel displays in the home has brought about an unintended and dangerous consequence. The increase in flat-panel televisions and the furniture they rest on has led to a proportionate increase in the number of children rushed to emergency rooms because of the TV or furniture falling on them. Over the past few years, two children have been killed or injured on Staten Island by falling TV sets. On March 17, 2006, 2-year old Christopher Dylan Damiano of Great Kills died after a 32-inch television fell off its stand in his Nelson Avenue home. A 7-year old Tottenville girl was injured in February 2007 by a falling TV. Two other children were killed in the Bronx. The tragedies occur when children climb furniture to either get to the TV or to the vcr/dvd player usually located on top of the furniture. The TV’s or the furniture they are on tip over with tragic consequences.

Statistics have shown that 3/4 of the 17,000 children injured yearly by falling furniture are younger than 6 years old. Children of that age are unable to understand the danger of climbing on furniture. The new flat panel TVs have a very high center of gravity and are prone to tipping over. Although they are light compared to the old style tube TVs, an average 32″ flat panel weighs approximately 25 pounds, sufficient to fatally injure a child, especially when falling from atop a dresser. The furniture that the TVs are placed on also has changed. as the TVs have become narrower and less stable, so has the furniture upon which it rests, creating a very dangerous situation.

Although legislation was introduced to to require stringent standards for the manufacturer of furniture that poses a substantial risk of tipping. Unfortunately, the legislation twice died in committee.

You can prevent such tragedies from occuring by following some simple precautions. The simplest and most secure is to use the straps and brackets that are supplied with some flat-panels. Sure, you’ll have to make some holes in your wall but holes can be easily fixed. Would you want to risk serious injury to your child because you were too lazy to drill a few holes in a wall? I didn’t think so. Also, eliminate temptation by removing toys and remote controls from atop the TV or furniture. Finally, the simplest and best solution: always be aware of what your children are doing and where they are.

If your child has been injured by a falling TV or furniture, please contact attorney Frank J. Dito, Jr., Esq., at (718) 979-4300 so that you may discuss your legal rights. Remember, your time to do so is very limited so please call today

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Window Screens Keep Out Bugs, But Wont Keep Children In

Frank Dito — Tue, 12 May 2009 02:40:18 +0000

The CPSC reports that over 3,700 children are sent to emergency rooms each year because they have fallen from open windows. In Staten Island, along with the rest of New York City, window guards must be installed if you live in a building that has three or more apartments and a child under age 11 lives in your apartment. Even if you live on the first floor, you must have window guards if a child under age 11 lives with you. Your landlord is required by law to provide you with window guards if you meet the above requirements.

As the warmer weather approaches, you can take some very basic steps to prevent such accidents from happening. Instead of opening windows from the bottom, as most of us do, open the windows from the top. Also, keep furniture and toys away from the windows. Your little ones will be tempted to get a better look at what is going on outside their home by climbing on a chair or their toys. You should also install stops to prevent your lower windows from opening more than 4 inches. Falls from open windows unfortunately result in traumatic brain injuries to children. Brain injury is the most frequent cause of disability and death among children in the United States. More than one million children sustain brain injuries every year and approximately 165,000 require hospitalization. So please, if you have small children, regardless if you live in a house or apartment, install window guards and window stops. The short time that it takes to install these safety devices can prevent a life-altering injury to your children.

If your child has been injured because of your landlord’s failure to install window guards, please contact attorney Frank J. Dito, Jr., Esq., at (718) 979-4300 so that you may discuss your legal rights. Remember, your time to do so is very limited so please call today.

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96,000 Jardine Enterprises cribs recalled

Frank Dito — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 17:43:16 +0000

Silive is reporting that Jardine Enterprises is recalling an additional 96,000 cribs, the third expansion of a previous crib recall the company has issued this year. The recall involves 7 different crib models sold throughout stores the United States.

The wooden crib slats on the recalled cribs can break, creating a gap. The gap presents an entrapment and strangulation hazard to infants.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has received 31 incident reports of slats breaking and two reports of children getting trapped in the gap created by the broken slats. Ten of the incidents were caused when a child broke the slats from inside the crib.

The cribs were sold at Toys “R” Us, Babies “R” Us, Kids World and Geoffrey stores around the country, as well as on www.babiesrus.com. They were sold between September 2005 and April 2009 for between $220 and $330.

Jardine previously recalled about 320,000 cribs in June 2008 and another 56,450 in January 2009. Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled products unless instructed otherwise.

For information on the recall, log on to www.cpsc.gov.

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Choking Hazard Leads to High Chair Recall

Frank Dito — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 20:36:27 +0000

MSNBC is reporting a recall of approximately 730,000 Evenflo high chair models because of the possibility that the seat back may suddenly recline or detach altogether. Children may fall backwards or fall out of the high chair and suffer bumps, bruises or cuts to the head. In addition, loose hardware presents a choking hazard. The models affected are the Envision and Majestic models manufactured by Evenflo.

If you have a child that was injured by a defective product, please contact us to discuss your case.

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14-year old Staten Island girl killed in car accident

Frank Dito — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 18:42:38 +0000

Staten Island resident Regina Kriklivy, 14, was killed Sunday night on Route 80 in Roxbury Township, New Jersey, nj.com is reporting. Ms. Kriklivy was a passenger in the back seat of her family’s minivan and was ejected as it spun out of control across the interstate’s east bound lanes at around 7:30 p.m. The Staten Island Advance reported that

Regina Kriklivy was riding in the eastbound lanes when the minivan collided with a school van carrying 14 children from New Jersey, starting a chain of crashes that also involved a tractor-trailer.

Her father Oleg, 45, mother Larisa, 45 and brother Arthur, 18, were also riding in the vehicle but received non-life threatening injuries in the 7:34 a.m. crash. All eastbound lanes of I-80 were closed for nearly eight hours after the crash.

After the minivan collided with the van, it spun across the highway and slammed into a guard rail. Miss Kriklivy was ejected from the minivan when it hit the rail a second time after spinning around.

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$1.25M settlement in Rye Playland Death Case

Frank Dito — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 20:33:05 +0000

The parents of a 7-year old boy who died at the Rye Playland Amusement Park have reached a settlement with Westchester County, the park’s owners, for $1.25 million, 1010wins is reporting. The boy, Jon-Kely Cassara, died while on the Ye Olde Mill ride, in which small boats move through a dark enchanted forest scene. After the ride started, the boy got out of his boat and somehow ended up in its channel of water. The cause of death was blunt trauma to his head. County officials acknowledged that the ride was understaffed and should never have been opened that day as only two workers were present, a violation of the park’s policy requiring three workers present to staff the ride.

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