Articles Tagged with children

No parent with young children wants to even contemplate a child of theirs being hit by a car while playing in the neighborhood. The fact is, though, that it happens, and it happens far more often than most people probably realize. In 2009 it was estimated that, on average, every year about 900 pedestrians 18 or younger were killed in traffic accidents. An additional 51,000 were injured, with more than 5,000 of those requiring hospitalization. Younger children made up less than a quarter of those 18-and-under pedestrian fatalities, but big numbers are not necessary for something to be a tragedy. Every young child struck by a car, much less killed, is a tragedy.

Child Pedestrians are at Risk Near Traffic

There were 6,205 pedestrian deaths total in 2019, representing 17% of all traffic-accident deaths. However, those statistics include only traffic deaths, meaning those deaths that occurred on roadways. An estimated 7,668 pedestrians died in 2019 in all vehicular accidents, including those fatalities that happened in accidents that did not occur on public roads. That includes pedestrian deaths that happened in parking lots, driveways, and on private property, resulting in a higher total than reflected by only those pedestrian deaths that occurred on roadways. In 2019, there were 206 pedestrian deaths among children 15 years old and younger, and 424 among pedestrians 20 years old and younger. Of all child deaths in traffic accidents in 2019, 73% were occupants of passenger vehicles, while 16% of those children killed in traffic accidents in 2019 were pedestrians. About 20% of all child traffic fatalities under the age of 15 are pedestrians. Child pedestrian deaths have declined dramatically since 1975, decreasing by 92% from 1975 through 2019. Even so, pedestrians overall are 1.5 times more likely per trip to die in a traffic accident than are the occupants of passenger vehicles.

With summertime rapidly approaching, hot sunny days cannot be far behind. Few things go better with a hot summer day than a refreshing dip in a swimming pool. While refreshing, however, that dip in the pool is not risk free, as accidents in and around swimming pools result in thousands of injuries and deaths each year. Young children are particularly at risk, especially those too young to know how to swim. Summer is a time for having fun in and around water, but be sure to exercise necessary cautions.

Pool-Related Injuries and Deaths Happen Frequently

When discussing swimming pool accidents, drownings often are among the first topics raised, and might even be the only topic discussed. Drownings and near-drownings, which are not fatal but can result in severe injuries, are the cause of thousands of deaths and injuries every year. From 2005 through 2014, 3,536 people on average drowned every year. Drowning is the fifth-leading cause of accidental deaths in the U.S. each year. There were more than 3,700 people who died from drowning across the country in 2016. While those drownings took place in all bodies of water, many of those drownings, fatal and non-fatal, occur in swimming pools. Children younger than the age of 15 account for a significant number of those drownings and near-drownings.

All parents have certain legal obligations towards their children. Under Georgia law, a parent must provide for a child’s “maintenance, protection and education” until he or she reaches 18 years of age. Obviously, this includes paying for a  child’s medical care, including care for injuries caused by a third party’s negligence.

Mujkic v. Lam

Of course, the parents do have the right to seek compensation from the negligent party for their out-of-pocket costs. But parents need to be aware of Georgia’s strict deadlines for pursuing such claims in courts. The law in this area is sometimes confusing, but judges do not excuse ignorance or honest mistakes when it comes to filing deadlines.

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