Virginia Child Injury Lawyer » child pedestrian

Make Trick-or-Treating Safe and Fun

srohrstaff — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 18:48:47 +0000

As you and your family prepare for trick-or-treating, don’t let the excitement of Halloween overshadow safety precautions. Discuss these safety precautions before your kids go out.

• Have a family meeting to go over safety rules before anyone goes out door-to- door. Generally, trick-or-treaters should only go to houses that have their lights on. This shows that they are welcoming to trick-or-treaters.

• In moving from house to house, everyone should walk on the sidewalk if there is one.

• Cross streets at corners, never from between parked cars. Many people are still going about their normal evening activities, including driving from place to place. Carry a flashlight, wear light clothing and/or a light-colored candy bag to ensure that drivers see you.

• Even older children enjoy trick or treating. Encourage them to travel with an adult. If they are old enough to be out on their own, insist that they travel in groups of at least three. Establish a curfew or a time when you expect them to be home.

• No one should enter an unknown house or eat candy that has not been inspected by an adult.

Halloween can be a great experience for children and adults, so doing whatever you can to avoid incidents can keep it that way.

Halloween is a perfect occasion to remind your children of their thank yous — and to take some really y cute pictures.

Safe Halloween Costumes

srohrstaff — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 18:47:19 +0000

Halloween is an exciting time for the child in us all and especially for our children — dressing up in a fun costume, getting a year’s worth of candy, and being out at night. However, all trick-or-treaters, whether four years old or forty, need to be familiar with these Halloween costume safety tips.

While you want your child’s costume to be perfect, following these costume tips will help make the night fun and safe.

• Don’t make your child invisible. Dark colored or black costumes cannot be seen at night.

• If possible, choose face painting over masks. Masks usually obstruct the child’s vision and may obstruct his breathing as well. Non-toxic face paint is preferred.

• When purchasing a pre-made costume or buying fabric to make one yourself, choose one that is made with flame-retardant fabric. Lots of sidewalks and doorways are lined with candle-filled jack-o-lanterns, and you don’t want a misplaced candle to catch your child’s costume on fire.

• Check to make sure that your child can walk comfortably in his costume. Make sure it doesn’t drag on the ground, and have him wear his normal sneakers when trick-or-treating,

• Weather at the end of October can be very unpredictable. Build long sleeve clothing or sweats into your child’s costume so that he won’t get cold on his outing.

• Any accessories should be made of soft materials (foam swords, etc.) and, OF COURSE, no real weapon should ever be part of a costume.

With careful planning, you and your child can havae a fun and exciting Halloween night.

If a child runs into the street and is hit by a car, whose fault is it?

srohrstaff — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 00:13:54 +0000

Of course, I can’t answer that question without knowing all the facts, but I can tell you what the law is in Virginia. A child under the age of seven cannot be negligent, cannot be at fault. So, if a child younger than seven years old runs out into the street and is hit by a car, it is not the child’s fault. (If a child is between seven and fourteen years old, the child is presumed to be incapable of being at fault unless there is evidence to the contrary.)

Why? Because the law recognizes that children will be children; that they are unpredictable in their behavior; that they don’t make mature decisions and can’t be held accountable for exercising care and caution for their own safety as if they were older children or adults.

I read a story about a young child who ran out into the street and was run over by an SUV. This happened on September 11 in Massachusetts, and I don’t know the law in Massachusetts; however, if that had happened in Virginia, it would not have been the child’s fault if the child was younger than seven years old (and probably not his fault if he was between 7 and 14).

The police said the boy was running to catch the school bus that was coming down the street. Was he late? Was he excited? Did his mother tell him to hurry up? Did a friend yell at him to hurry? In Virginia, none of that would have mattered. In Virginia, it’s not his fault.

It could be the fault of the driver of the SUV — she saw the bus coming down the street. It could have been the fault of the school system for putting the bus stop in a place that required a second grade child to cross a street. But in Virginia, it’s not the child’s fault.

If your child was hit by a car while crossing a street and was injured or killed, you should talk to a lawyer who can help you. It’s not the child’s fault, and a lawyer experienced in helping parents of injured children can answer your questions about identifying the responsible person. I answer questions for free. Call me at 703-273-9500 or contact me through my firm’s website, www.WRSattorneys.com or send me an email at srohrstaff@WRSattorneys.com.