Miami Injury Lawyer Blawg

According to a study published Monday in the pediatrics journal, 502,000 children and teens visited emergency departments for concussions between 2001 and 2005. Roughly half of those visits were for concussions related to sports and other recreational activities. This figure represents a greater than 100% increase for the 5 year period leading up to 2005.

In light of the fact that Children, like athletes in general are bigger, stronger, and faster than a decade ago and the increased awareness placed on concussions, this figure is not that surprising.

What is surprising is that much of the increase came from from middle-schoolers and even elementary school students who have flocked to play on elite travel teams and in competitive youth leagues across the country. The study found that 40% of the sports-related pediatric concussion patients seen in ERs were between the ages of 8 and 13. All this while participation in organized sports was declining.

So why are concussions soaring? The American Academy of Pediatrics updated "clinical report" underscores growing evidence that younger children's brains are not only more susceptible to injury, but those injuries may take longer to heal and can be more damaging than concussions in adolescents or adults.

A 2007 estimate by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggested children and adults sustain as many as 3.8 million sports- and recreation-related concussions a year in the United States. But "data are significantly lacking about concussions in grade-school and middle-school athletes, which highlights the need for more research," wrote Drs. Mark E. Halstead and Kevin E. Walter on behalf of the academy's Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness.

Giza said Pediatrics' review of clinical findings on concussions will help forge consensus among coaches, parents and physicians about what to do when a child is dazed after a rough tackle or knocks heads hard with a teammate in a lunge for the ball.

"There's sort of an old-school notion that a kid gets his or her bell rung and toughs it out and keeps participating and bounces back," Giza said. But with evidence piling up that concussions are especially dangerous for younger kids, coaches should take "a more conservative approach," he said.

The Rhode Island researchers added that parents, coaches and physicians need better guidelines for recognizing brain trauma in younger kids, determining when and how long to sideline them and finding ways to protect them from long-term harm.

In May 2009, the state of Washington was the first to pass legislation requiring that any student-athlete suspected of having a concussion be removed from the game and not return to play until cleared by a licensed medical professional. Several states, including California, have since adopted similar laws.

Continue reading "Concussions In Child Athletes Are Soaring" »

A Wisconsin amusement park employee was arrested and charged with first degree reckless injury in the case of the Parkland girl injured after a 100 foot fall at the park.

12-year-old Teagan Marti was on vacation with her family when she went on the free-fall tower ride called Terminal Velocity. The Suspended Catch Air Devices, commonly referred to as SCAD towers, lift riders to the top, then a ride operator unhooks the rider's harness for a 10-story, back-first, free fall. The rider lands in a net suspended 40 feet above the ground that, from there, is slowly lowered to the ground so that the rider simply walks off the net. However, In this case, Marti was wounded because the ride operator failed to confirm that safety nets on the free-fall tower ride were ready to catch her after the 10-story fall.

The incident left Marti comatose for four days. Marti, who is set to enter the sixth grade at Westglades Middle School in Parkland, is being treated at The American Family Children's Hospital at the University of Wisconsin, where she was in critical condition Wednesday.

Continue reading "Ride Operator Arrested In Case of Parkland Girl Injured in Fall From Amusement Park Ride " »

Another day another cyclist is hit in Miami.

This accident occurred Thursday August 12, 2010 around 7pm at the entrance to the Key when a woman in her 40s was struck from behind by a white F-150 XL driven by Jose Ravelo, president of A-1 Landscaping Service.

The injured cyclist was hurt in the lower back and was unable to get off the ground after the accident. She was taken to hospital and her condition is not known.

"To tell the truth I really didn't see her," said Ravelo, explaining he was leaving the key and was driving on the right hand lane. "I guess it must have been my fault, but it was one of those things. I just can't explain. I don't know what happened."
Ravelo's front right headlight was broken with pieces lying in the roadside. Ravelo pointed out that the white bike lane marking at the scene of the accident are virtually non-existent making the right of way unclear.

Continue reading "Cyclist Hit on Key Biscayne" »

A man working on the Palmetto expressway was struck by a pickup truck at 8:15 A.M. on August 11, 2010.

The man, who was a subcontractor for the Florida Department of Transportation, was airlifted to the hospital with serious injuries.

Continue reading "Miami Gardens Accident Injures Man Cleaning Road" »

The Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2010, aimed at strengthening safety and reporting standards, was signed by President Obama last week.

The new law requires the cruise industry to install video surveillance systems in common areas, as well as door viewers and security latches on cabin doors.

Each ship must carry equipment and materials to perform sexual assault medical exams and to collect forensic evidence. Ships also need to have drugs to prevent sexually transmitted diseases after an assault.

Another provision requires cruise ships to log and report all deaths, missing persons, alleged crimes and complaints involving some thefts, sexual attacks and assaults involving U.S. citizens.

Those records will be available to the FBI and the Coast Guard electronically and to all law enforcement officers upon request. The Department of Homeland Security will make cruise line crime statistics available to the public.

Crimes in the United States are generally investigated without regard to the citizenship of the victim or suspect. At sea, citizenship is a factor that can lead to confusion and dropped investigations. To that end, a 17-year-old Canadian boy said a fellow passenger on the Caribbean Princess grabbed the boy's crotch in an elevator. The day before, the same man touched himself inappropriately in front of the teenager at the spa, the incident report said.

The ship sailed from Port Everglades, and the case was referred to the FBI by the Broward County Sheriff's Office and Princess Cruises. The FBI said the incident did not rise to the level of federal prosecution.

Nothing further was done to investigate the accused man, a Mexican citizen living in Pinecrest and working at a recreational park for children, according to the incident report filed with the Broward Sheriff's Office.

Continue reading "Crime on Cruise Ships Addressed in New Law" »