Injuries to Children

January 10, 2016

Study: Concussion Injuries No. 1 for Cheerleaders

It was five years ago that a high school cheerleader in Maine suffered a horrifying head injury during a “basket toss” stunt, in which she fell some 20 feet after being thrown in the air by her teammates at practice.

In a lawsuit she filed three years ago, the former Poland Regional High School student described the aftermath of her concussion, which involved dizziness, sensitivity to light, awful headaches, long sleeping stretches and difficulty concentrating that resulted in slipping grades. The lawsuit alleged the school didn’t properly supervised the practice, failed to halt the practice once the student athlete was injured, didn’t observe her injury or provide prompt medical attention and violated a host of industry rules and standards as well as Maine law.

Now, according to a recent report published in the journal Pediatrics, we know these injuries aren’t all that uncommon among cheerleaders. There are approximately 400,000 students nationally participating in high school cheerleading. Of those, about 124,000 are in competitive “spirit squads.” These squads demand discipline, skill and increasing athletic ability, and that has meant the risk of injury has risen. Continue reading

December 15, 2015

Seat Belts in School Buses Encouraged by Top National Safety Officials

by Peter Thompson & Associates

Only six states in the U.S. have laws that require seat belt installation on school buses. Maine isn’t among them. That should change, according to Mark R. Rosekind, National Highway Traffic Safety administrator.

In a recent keynote speech to a group of school transportation officials in Virginia, Rosekind announced the NHTSA would putting more resources toward researching the effectiveness of seat belts on school buses. He further committed his agency to pursuing mandates requiring every school bus in the country to have three-point seat belt systems installed for children.

However, he didn’t indicate the NHTSA would be initiating the rule-making process, which is necessary to enact a mandatory rule. The aforementioned study will focus on school bus seat belt safety in Florida, California, Louisiana, New York, New Jersey and Texas. These are the states that have required schools to have seat belts installed on all vehicles responsible for transporting children. Continue reading

November 11, 2015

Maine High School Football Season Canceled Amid Player Injury Concerns

by Peter Thompson & Associates

A high school in Rockport, about an hour north of Portland, has canceled the rest of the school’s football season – and next year’s too – amid “serious safety concerns” attributed to a reduced number of players.

Players, speaking recently to The Boston Globe, are bitterly disappointed. They argue even if they suffered major losses on the field, they shouldn’t be denied the opportunity to play. But school administrators say it wasn’t the scoreboard that concerned them. Rather, it was the risk of injury to players.

The superintendent in an open letter explained several team members had sustained injuries early on in the season, and two of those incidents led to trips to the emergency room. She also said a number of players were afraid to go on the field, though they would not admit so publicly. The number of players had dwindled substantially in recent years, and the school says that meant players were young and inexperienced and often going up against bigger, stronger, older players. Continue reading

October 25, 2015

Maine Toddler Dies of E. Coli Bacteria Infection, Father Blames Petting Zoo

by Peter Thompson & Associates

The father of a 21-month-old boy says their child died in a Portland hospital after falling ill a week after a visit to the Oxford County Fair. The child was diagnosed with Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome, which is a disease born of E. coli, a bacteria that’s typically found in the intestines of both humans and animals.

After learning of another toddler who is in critical condition with the same condition after visiting the same petting zoo, the deceased boy’s father said he is convinced his child picked up the illness at the petting zoo. He told the Boston Globe he and the other family compared notes on everything they ate, places they went, cleanliness practices. He said the two children didn’t know each other and had never met.

“But we both went to the petting zoo,” he told a reporter.

The other child, 17 months, remains hospitalized. Continue reading

May 15, 2015

Amusement Ride Injury Prompts Maine Safety Regulation Bill

by Peter Thompson & Associates

Following the death of a teen girl on a hayride last fall, Maine lawmakers are searching for way to tighten amusement park regulations and restrictions, to ensure similar tragedies never happen again.

Recently, the Legislature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee weighed testimony from one lawmaker sponsoring a bill named after the teen that would enhance protections for those who pay money to go on amusement park rides in this state.

The measure, “Cassidy’s Law,” is formally titled LD 1057, An Act to Increase the Safety of Amusement Park Rides. It bears the name of the high school junior who was killed in Mechanic Falls when a 197os-model Jeep hauling a trailer with 20 people on it careened off the trail and into a cluster of trees at a “haunted” hayride offering at a local farm festival.

October 25, 2014

Bangor Student School Bus Injury Reported After Child Struck by Car

by Peter Thompson & Associates

An elementary school student was struck and seriously injured by a vehicle while boarding a bus in Sedgwick recently. The child was later transported to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. Coincidentally, the accident occurred just days before National School Bus Safety Week, Oct. 20-24.

According to the Maine State Police, the crash occurred as the child was boarding the bus to school around 7:30 a.m. The bus slowed with its yellow flashing lights to indicate it was preparing to stop to pick up the girl. However, she was not standing outside as usual, so the driver pulled to the side of the road and turned off the yellow flashing lights, an indicator that through traffic was allowed to pass. As a 64-year-old driver was passing the bus, the girl raced out into the street, thinking the bus was stopped for her. (It was, but the absence of yellow flashing lights meant it wasn’t safe for her to cross.)

The private busing company that provides service to the school district declined to comment.

July 27, 2014

Howe v. MMG Ins. Co. – Dangerous Dog Bite Liability in Maine

by Peter Thompson & Associates

During the summer in Maine, we inevitably see an uptick of dog bites as more folks are out-and-about enjoying the nice weather. Many are accompanied by their dogs, or they may be more lax regarding their dog’s outdoor enclosures.

Portland dog bite lawyers want to point out that Maine is a strict liability state with regard to dog bites. That means if a dog injures another person, the owner or keeper is liable for whatever damages result. M.R.S.A. 3961 holds that any fault on the part of the injured party won’t reduce damages covered, unless the court finds that fault exceeded the fault of the owner.

In instances of dogs biting children, this is rarely an issue because owners are supposed to recognize that children do not have the foresight as adults when approaching and handling dogs.

May 19, 2014

Maine Supreme Court Rules on Child Lead Poisoning Lawsuit

by Peter Thompson & Associates

When three young children and their parents were exposed to toxic lead in their rented Maine home, they sought compensation through the courts.

After being denied a jury trial on some of the negligence complaints raised, the family lost the remaining claims at trial.

But now, the Maine Supreme Court has found clear errors in the way the trial court handed the case, ruling that the burden of proof was unfairly shifted to the plaintiffs. The victims will now have the opportunity to seek a new trial in the case of Bratton v. McDonough.

December 30, 2013

Exculpatory Agreements for Children Have Varied Enforcement in Maine

by Peter Thompson & Associates

Agreements that extract a party from liability for negligence are handled with a heightened degree of judicial scrutiny in Maine courts.This is especially true when these exculpatory agreements involve release of negligence for harm to children.

The recent case of BJ’s Wholesale Club v. Rosen, reviewed by the Maryland Court of Appeals, illustrates how courts tend to wrestle with these matters.

October 24, 2013

Bangor Child Safety an Important Focus of Halloween

by Peter Thompson & Associates

Halloween is one of the most enjoyable times of the year for kids, but amid the fun of trick-or-treating and costumes, parents need to be aware of several safety issues. According to My FOX Maine, it’s best to warn children not to eat any treats before an adult has carefully examined them for evidence of tampering. Your best bet is to inspect the candy first, before handing it over to children.Our Bangor child injury attorneys understand that Halloween night is the most dangerous night out of the entire year for pedestrian injuries and fatalities. More children are killed on this night than any other. But luckily, there are things that parents and guardians can do to help reduce these risks. And it all starts out with a little planning. We’re asking parents and guardians to review the following safety tips and to share them with friends, family members and children to help ensure everyone makes it through All Hallow’s Eve unharmed.

The first thing you’re going to want to tackle before heading out the door is costume safety. Starting from head and heading to the toes, you want to make sure that your child’s costume does not consist of a mask. Masks can hinder children’s vision and can send them walking straight into danger. Consider using face paint instead. You also want to make sure that their costume is light in color and consists of reflective materials to help motorists to see them more easily. Costumes should also be short enough to prevent children from tripping and falling. Comfortable shoes are ideal as it’s going to be a long night of candy-seeking adventures. Lastly, swords, knives, and similar costume accessories should be of soft and flexible material. You don’t want any eye injuries.