Articles Posted in Wrongful Death

Given that June is National Fireworks Safety Month now’s a good time to take a minute and discuss some of the danger associated with the bright lights seen by many at July 4th displays. Though there are many varieties of fireworks which can be purchased legally, this doesn’t mean they are risk free. According to one study by the U.S. Fire Administration, at least 92% of all fireworks-related injuries each year are caused by such legally purchased fireworks.

Those at most risk for injury are, perhaps unsurprisingly, young children. Children under the age of 15 are at the highest risk for fireworks-related injuries. Their love of the bright lights and loud noises attracts them but they are often too young to understand they danger they represent. Even seemingly safe hand-held fireworks can cause serious harm as some sparklers can reach temperatures of 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, hot enough to melt copper. For children under the age of five, sparklers accounted for the largest number of estimated injuries, 36 percent of the total injuries in that age group.

During the 30 days surrounding July 4 last year, fireworks sent about 1,900 injured consumers to emergency rooms. The Consumer Product Safety Commission’s statistics show that in 2010 about 8,600 consumers ended up in hospital emergency rooms due to injuries involving fireworks. In 2011, 9,600 people were treated in emergency departments for similar injuries, an increase of 1,000 injuries in just one year. The CPSC’s annual death and injury report on fireworks, reports of three fatalities related to fireworks were received last year.

The part of the body most often injured are hands and fingers (estimated 2,900 injuries), eyes (1,100 injuries), head, face, and ears (1,100 injuries), and legs (700 injuries). The products that cause the most harm include sparklers (1,100), firecrackers (800), and bottle rockets (300). The major causes of injuries are due to delayed or early fireworks explosions, bottle rockets that go off course, falling debris from exploding fireworks and mishandling sparklers.

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Recent figures from USA Today show that there is concern among manufacturers and regulators that consumers have grown tired of the constant recall notices arriving in their mailboxes. The increased numbers of recalls, while a good thing, is causing consumers to be exhausted and ignore some notices, possibly to their detriment. Last year alone there were some 2,363 product recalls in consumer products, medical devices, drugs and food. This number represents an increase of 14% from just a year before.

While the increased number of recalls is good in terms of notifying consumers of potential dangers, it creates a worry that consumers will tire of the repeated warnings, perhaps not taking them as seriously. Mike Rozembajgier, the VP of recalls at Stericycle ExpertRecall, said, “We’re experiencing recall fatigue in my mind at the consumer level and also perhaps at the business level, and we all have to worry about that.”

The problem is that if consumers are not paying attention to recalls then they become ineffective. The regulators then must come up with new ways to warn consumers about dangerous products that will somehow break through. As a result, consumer protection agencies are trying to vary the methods that they are using to contact consumers. Social media sites like Twitter and Facebook are now being used by government agencies to get the word out about potential recalls rather than simply mailing notices which are more easily discarded as junk mail. Authorities are not giving up on the more traditional means of contact like telephone calls.

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Recently, WCNC.com reported on the tragic death of a young man killed while riding his bike to school. No child deserves to have his or her life cut short due to such an unfortunate tragedy.

Tragedy does not even begin to describe what happened to 14-year old, Drew Wright. Wright was a freshman at Myers Park High School in Charlotte. On Tuesday, May 26, 2012, Wright was riding his bike down the sidewalk on his way to school. In this part of the city, trash pickup occurs on Tuesdays. As he was riding down the sidewalk, Wright swerved to avoid hitting a trashcan that had been set out for the sanitation workers to empty on their morning run. Wright, however, lost control of his bike, wobbled a little, and fell over into the middle of the street. He was hit by a US Foods truck on Sharon Lane, near Providence Road. Wright later died from his injuries. He was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.

The police have said that no charges will be filed against the driver of the truck. This was nothing more than a tragic accident, but this is an opportunity for all of us to take a step back and begin to rethink bicycle safety. While most teenagers are driving to school by the time the turn 16, there are still a few who choose to ride their bikes to and from school. Parents should work diligently to keep their children safe even while they are riding their bicycles on sidewalks. Wearing a helmet is critical to proper bicycle safety. Head injuries are extremely serious and in this case, fatal.

In addition, some responsibility rests on the drivers of our communities who ride past children on bicycles. Children are impulsive and quick to react without thinking. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the drivers to keep a watchful eye on those bicycle riders and drive slowly so as to avoid hitting a child that may have made a quick maneuver in front of you. While nothing in this report says how fast the US Food truck driver was going at the time, or how close he was to Wright when he fell in the roadway, it is possible that if he had been going slower, he would have either avoided hitting Wright altogether, or he would have done less damage because the impact would have been less severe.

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