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"The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has identified six common dangers for children around vehicles which parents and drivers may overlook." says

Florida Child Injuries Attorney Randall Spivey, Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A.

These dangers are:

  Backover                       Vehicle Rollaway 

  Heatstroke                   Seat Belt Englement

  Power Windows           Trunk Entrapment
   

 

Safekids.org reports that annually, more than 9,000 children ages 14 and under are treated in emergency departments for injuries that occurred while they were unattended in or around motor vehicles, and  29 children died of hyperthermia (heatstroke) in cars. The Children's Hospital Oakland.org reports that in just 10 minutes the temperature inside a closed car can reach 120°F.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) reports that prior to 2009 the NHTSA only gathered statistics on public roadways. In 2009 the NHTSA launched the Not-in-Traffic Surveillance (NiTS) crash database of non-traffic events resulting in injuries and deaths.  They estimate there are approximately 292 backover fatalities each year with an estimated 4,000 injuries occurring on public roadways.

Documented power window cases which involve child injuries or deaths are often caused by children being left inside vehicle without supervision.  Children can put their heads and/or arms outside the window and inadvertently lean, kneel and step on the window switch which triggers the power windows, according to the IIHS.

Vehicle rollaways can occur when either a driver fails to put a vehicle in park and turn off the transmission or there could be a vehicle product defect, similar to that which occurred in the recall of several thousand BMW 7-series 2002-2008 vehicles.

"Children should never be left alone around vehicles. As a parent, I understand that a parent's worst nightmare is the injury or death of a child." says Attorney Spivey.

Florida Child Injuries Attorney Randall L. Spivey is a Board Certified Civil Trial Attorney – the highest recognition for competence bestowed by the Florida Bar and a distinction earned by less than 2 percent of Florida attorneys. He has handled over 1,500 personal injury and wrongful death cases throughout Florida. For a free and confidential consultation to discuss your legal rights, contact the Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A., in Lee County at  239. 337.7483 or toll free at 1.888.477.4839, or by email to