Spreading the Word

In observance of this week, the FFCMH is promoting the following messages:

• Severe mental and emotional health disorders in children and youth are real and treatable.
• Mental health is vital to a child’s overall health and wellbeing.
• Children and youth with mental health challenges, as well as their families, are entitled to supports and services that are youth guided, culturally appropriate, and family driven.
• Youth and family voice is an inherent part of determining appropriate interventions and services.
• Values of dignity, social inclusion, and acceptance for children, youth, and families must be promoted in all communities.

When Mental and Emotional Health Challenges are Preventable

Not all emotional and mental health challenges arise as the result of genetic programming. Oftentimes, children’s mental health is compromised as the result of trauma, whether physical or psychological, and that trauma may be caused by negligence or recklessness of others. In such situations, the party responsible for inflicting that trauma may be held responsible for the mental health problems or other injuries that the child suffers.

How an Experienced Massachusetts Child Injury Attorney Can Help

If your child has suffered injury in Massachusetts as the result of another’s negligence, you have the right to pursue legal action to obtain financial compensation for your family’s losses. The child injury lawyers in Boston with the Kiley Law Group are committed to helping injured children get the support and services they need to ensure the best quality of life possible for their future. To speak to one of our attorneys about your particular circumstances, call us today at (888) 208-1695 for a free consultation.

The Defect

The drop-side of the crib can fall out of position as the result of detachment, malfunction, or otherwise failure of the drop-side. This creates a space which an infant or toddler may roll into and become wedged or entrapped, which can lead to suffocation or strangulation. This space may also cause a child to fall out of the crib.

Injuries

The CPSC and the company have received reports of five incidents where the drop sides malfunctioned or detached, including one where a child became entrapped and suffered minor scratches and bruises.

Product Details

The recall includes drop-side cribs with the brand name “Rockland Furniture” and the model number on the lower part of the headboard panel on a rectangular label. The wooden cribs use plastic hardware to attach the drop-side. The recalled models include:

• 343-8124 Nightingale Spindle Drop-Side Crib
• 343-8280 Cottage Standard Drop-Side Crib Version 1
• 343-8271 Cottage Standard Drop-Side Crib Version 2
• 343-9105 Drop-Side Crib and Changer
• 343-8191 Renew Standard Drop-Side Crib
• 343-8192 Renew Convertible Drop-Side Crib

The cribs were manufactured in Taiwan and sold at JCPenney retail stores and online at jcpenney.com from January 2005 through December 2008 for between $150 and $400.

Remedy

Consumers of the affected drop-side cribs should immediately stop using them and contact Nan Far Woodworking for a repair kit to immobilize the defective drop-side at no-cost. For additional information, consumers may contact Nan Far Woodworking at (877) 967-5770.

When to Call a Massachusetts Child Injury Lawyer

If your child has been injured as the result of a defective children’s product, the dedicated child injury lawyers in Boston with the Kiley Law Group can help you hold the at-fault manufacturer liable for all that your child and your family have suffered. Call us today at (888) 208-1695 to learn more about getting the compensation you deserve.

Baby Safety

Babies are particularly vulnerable to serious injury, especially when they are just starting to move around on their own and explore their surroundings. One of the most important safety measures to take, other than always knowing where your baby is and what he or she is doing, is to check for recalls on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) website (www.cpsc.gov), or www.recalls.gov before buying cribs, car seats, strollers, or other child products. Baby-proofing your home is also important. Corners and sharp edges can be very dangerous for a baby.

Sports Safety

Sports are a great way for kids to stay active and build their social skills, but they can also be dangerous. Concussions and other forms of traumatic brain injury (TBI) are common sports-related injuries that can be prevented. Some important child sports safety tips include making sure that:

• Every child is wearing the proper safety gear;
• The sporting event is appropriately supervised;
• There is first aid available; and
• Water is readily available (dehydration can also cause injury).

Kids and Cars

Motor vehicles are responsible for many child injuries and deaths. By following these safety tips, however, you can ensure that your child will avoid injuries related to motor vehicles:

• Always check behind the car and the front of the car before reversing or driving away;
• Never leave your child alone in a car;
• Always lock the car doors and trunk;
• Teach children that the car (and its trunk) are not safe places to play;
• Check for child safety seat recalls; and
• Always buckle your child up properly.

When to Contact a Massachusetts Child Injury Lawyer

Unfortunately, even if a parent takes all necessary safety measures, their child may still suffer serious injury due to the negligence of another. If your child has been injured as the result of another’s negligent actions, whether it is another adult or the manufacturer of child products, the dedicated Boston child injury lawyers with the Kiley Law Group can help.

Call us today for a free consultation at (888) 208-1695 to learn more about obtaining the compensation your child deserves.

Child Injuries at Summer Camp

It is not uncommon for children to suffer mild injuries at summer camp, but a bruise after a game of football is not the same as a traumatic brain injury (TBI) caused by falling off of an unprotected balcony. On a premises that is not up to safety standards, child slip and fall accidents as well as other incidents can occur frequently. To make sure your child comes back from camp in one piece, it is important to visit the camp and consider several questions. If you’re not sure what those questions are, the Needham, Massachusetts Public Health Department can help.

Needham Summer Camp Licensing

In Needham, summer camps must be evaluated and licensed by the Needham Public Health Department and comply with the regulations established by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. If you’re wondering what to look for in a camp, the Needham summer camp licensing requirements can give you a good idea:

• The camp has trained counselors (with at least four weeks of supervisory experience with children;
• Background checks completed for all staff;
• The camp must have sufficient healthcare staff;
• All prescription medications for campers are kept secure;
• The camp has safety equipment and safe structures;
• The camp has adequate sanitary facilities;
• The camp has emergency plans in place; and
• There is adequate camper supervision (one counselor to 10 campers over six-years-old, or one counselor to five campers six-years-old or younger.)

When to Contact a Massachusetts Child Injury Lawyer

While summer camps in Needham are well regulated, there are many others that do not offer a sufficiently safe environment for children. If your child has been injured as the result of another person’s or property owner’s negligence, the compassionate child injury lawyers in Boston at the Kiley Law Group can help you hold the at-fault party liable. Call us today for a free legal consultation of your legal rights and options at (888) 208-1695.

CDC TBI Statistics

According to the CDC, approximately 1.7 million deaths, hospitalizations, and emergency room visits related to TBIs occur every year in the United States. Within the past decade, emergency department visits for recreation and sports-related injuries increased 60 percent among adolescents and children. The most common activities involved in these TBI incidents were football, bicycling, basketball, playground activities, and soccer.

Most TBIs are concussions and although most people who sustain a traumatic brain injury recover fully and quickly, others experience symptoms for potentially weeks after the incident. These symptoms can include trouble concentrating, headaches, forgetfulness, irritability, headaches, or other symptoms.

Protecting Your Child from TBI

There are several steps that parents, school professionals, and coaches can take to prevent brain injury accidents. A few of these include:

• Making sure all children have the necessary safety equipment, such as helmets, for sports and other activities;
• Supervising sports or playground activities to ensure that children are not placed, or do not place themselves, in a dangerous situation; and
• Learning to recognize the signs of TBI so that, should an incident occur, you are more than equipped to handle the situation and know when to seek medical attention.

When to Contact a Massachusetts Child Injury Attorney

A parent and school can take all the safety measures possible to protect their children, but not all traumatic brain injuries are preventable. If your child has suffered a TBI or any other injury as the result of another’s negligence, the compassionate child injury lawyers in Boston with the Kiley Law Group can help you pursue rightful compensation and justice.

Contact us today for a free legal evaluation of your potential case. The call may be free, but the information is priceless.

Massachusetts Burn Injury Statistics

The Massachusetts Burn Injury Reporting System (M-BIRS) compiles injury reports for all burn incidents affecting at least five percent of the victim’s body. According to its 2010 annual report, there were 535 burn injuries that year. Forty-one percent of these were caused by scalds due to grease and cooking liquids, tap water, hot liquids, steam, and food. Children under the age of five accounted for 28 percent of all scald burn injuries.

Child Scald Injury Prevention Tips

The Massachusetts Fire Marshall recommends the following tips to avoid child scalding injuries:

• Never hold toddlers or babies while drinking hot tea or coffee;
• Make sure all hot soups and/or drinks are placed close to the center of the table, out of grabbing distance;
• Consider using placemats instead of tablecloths so young children cannot pull the tablecloth and everything on it onto themselves;
• Establish a perimeter around the barbecue and stove which children may not enter;
• Make sure pot handles are always pointed inward on the stove; and
• Always supervise children in bathtubs. In addition, place them turned away from the faucet so they do not turn on the hot water accidently.

Treating Scald Burns

If a scald injury should occur, the first steps are to remove the victim from the dangerous condition and call 9-1-1. Until emergency services arrive, you should do the following:

• Cool the burn with cold water, no lotions, butter, ointments, or fats;
• Remove any watches or jewelry from the affected area before it swells;
• Never remove clothing that is sticking to the burn as it can cause further injury and/or infection; and
• Protect the burn with a clean towel or sheet.

When to Contact a Massachusetts Child Injury Lawyer

If your child has suffered a burn injury due to the negligence, recklessness, or lack of supervision of another, you and your child may have cause for legal action. Contact the compassionate Boston child injury attorneys with the Kiley Law Group today to learn more about how you can obtain the compensation your child deserves. Call (888) 208-1695 for a free consultation of your legal rights and options.

Recalled Product Details

The following multi-purpose helmets, which were also sold as bicycle helmets, are included in the CPSC recall:

• Little Tricky Helmets – These child helmets have a large Little Tricky logo on both sides of the helmet and were sold in black, green, pink, and white in only one size.
• Sector 9, size S/M, EPS Liner Helmets – These were sold in white, blue, black, and green and have a hard black inner EPS foam liner. There is also an interior label which has the size, S/M, and the manufacture date on it.
• Triple Eight, size S/M, EPS Liner Helmets – These were sold in bone, black, white, blue, and army green and have the same inner EPS foam liner as mentioned above, as well as an interior label with the size and manufacture date of the helmet.

The recalled helmets were manufactured in China and were sold at sporting goods and bicycle stores, other retailers nationwide, and online for about $40 from August 2006 through November 2011. Consumers should immediately contact Triple Eight for a full refund.

When to Contact a Massachusetts Child Product Liability Attorney

If your child has suffered an injury as the result of a defective product, you and your child may be entitled to pursue compensation from the negligent manufacturer. At the Kiley Law Group, our experienced child injury lawyers in Boston have years of experience in successfully obtaining compensation for families whose children have been injured by manufacturer negligence.

We can help you understand your legal rights and options and are committed to achieving the best possible outcome. To speak to one of our attorneys, contact us today for a free legal evaluation at (888) 208-1695. The call may be free, but the information is priceless.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), a variety of newly implemented safety standards have made a big difference in protecting children from injuries as the result of dangerous or defective toys. These include:

• Strictly limiting the use of certain phthalates;
• Establishing the lowest worldwide lead paint and lead content limits;
• Requiring third party testing and certification of toys intended for children 12 years old or younger;
• Mandating toy standards that were once voluntary; and
• Tracking toy shipments being imported to the U.S. with the help of Homeland Security, thus increasing seizure of dangerous imported toys.

These standards have created a safer toy market, as proven by the decline of toy recalls since 2008, which had 172. Toy recalls in 2009 further declined to 50; and in 2010, the number of recalls dropped even further to 46. Finally, during the 2011 fiscal year, toy recalls declined to 34. Lower numbers of recalls do not necessarily mean lower numbers of child injuries, however.

Defective Toys Still Endanger Children

Stronger toy safety regulations are a step in the right direction, but dangerous toys that slip through the cracks can still cause serious injury to children. In 2010, unsafe toy-related child deaths increased to 17 for children younger than 15. Furthermore, there were 15 reports of toy-related child deaths in 2009. Almost half of these fatal defective toy accidents involved choking on rubber balls, balloons, and small balls.

How a Dedicated Massachusetts Child Injury Lawyer Can Help

If your child has been injured by a defective or dangerous toy in Massachusetts, you and your child may be entitled to legal action. At the Kiley Law Group, our child injury attorneys in Boston can help you understand your legal rights and advise you on the best course of action for your particular case. To learn more about holding at-fault parties accountable and getting the compensation your family deserves, call us today for a free case evaluation at (888) 208-1695.

The study catalogued 175,261 child TBI incidents and found that by 2008, the number of yearly injuries had been reduced to 36,884 from 50,088 in 2005. According to researchers, the drop in injuries is mostly likely caused by an increase in head injury awareness and greater use of bicycle helmets.

Child Brain Injury Fatalities
Even with the large decrease in the amount of child brain trauma, the fatality rate remained the same in every year examined by the study: 3.5 percent of injury victims. Of all child age groups, newborns were the most likely to die of their head injuries, with the group being 2.8 times more likely to die than the average child.

The study also found that the four most common causes of child TBI were:

• Being struck by a car;
• Being in a vehicle involved in an auto accident;
• Suffering a fall; and
• Being involved in a bicycle accident.

Contacting a Boston Child Brain Injury Law Team
When a child suffers a traumatic brain injury, his or her entire life could be permanently changed. Even as medicine and treatment continue to improve, the best protection against these injuries is safety and accident prevention. If your child has suffered a head injury in Massachusetts because of the negligent actions of another, a Boston child injury attorney at the Kiley Law Group can help you win the compensation your child needs to recover from his or her injuries.

Attorney Tom Kiley, The Million Dollar Man, has years of success winning settlements that his clients need to move past trauma such as brain injury, child birth injury, and auto accident injury. Call our offices today at (800) 930-8145 for a free and confidential consultation on your case.

Prematurity Statistics
According to MarchofDimes.com, one in eight babies is born too soon in the United States and more than 500,000 babies are born prematurely in the U.S. every year. Premature birth is the leading cause of newborn death nationwide. Worldwide, 13 million babies are born prematurely each year.

Importance of Pre-natal Care
Receiving the proper health care during pregnancy is critical. With the appropriate pre-natal screenings and tests, conditions that may contribute to premature birth can be managed. If a woman’s physician fails to perform the necessary tests or fails to inform her of a potential premature birth and its risks, he or she may be held liable for any medical condition the baby suffers as a result.

Impact of Early Labor Induction and C-Sections
Late-preterm births, between 34 and 36 weeks, have been on the rise recently. This trend is, in part, attributed to the rising rates of c-sections and early induction of labor. The March of Dimes Prematurity Campaign urges healthcare professionals and hospitals to implement quality improvement programs that would ensure consistency regarding inductions and c-sections before 39 weeks. Early induction of labor and c-sections are not always in the best interest for the baby’s health.

When to Contact a Massachusetts Child Injury Attorney
If your baby suffers from a serious health condition as the result of a premature birth that you believe was preventable, you and your child may be entitled to financial compensation. Contact the experienced Boston birth injury lawyers with the Kiley Law Group to learn more about your legal rights and options.

We are dedicated to using our 30 years of knowledge, skills, and resources to help our clients hold medical professionals accountable for their negligence, ignorance, or carelessness. Call us today for your free legal consultation. Though the call is free, the information is priceless.