Oklahoma Personal Injury Legal Blog
Drowning Risks Still Exist After Pool Season Ends
Although Labor Day marks the unofficial close of outdoor swimming pool season, drowning risks for young children are significant year-round. According to recent data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), “drowning is the leading cause of unintentional death among children ages 1 to 4.” The biggest risks are found inside the home with around 92 percent of drowning incidents happening in residential settings, according to the agency.
The CPSC reports 660 submersion household water accidents involving children younger than five years old, from 2005 to 2009. Out of those, there were 431 deaths, 212 injuries and 17 accidents with undetermined injuries. Most of the victims were under two years old and involved baths or bath-related products (the leading cause of drowning for children behind swimming pools), while buckets, containers and even landscaping equipment were also involved in accidents.
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Starting the School Year Safe
The start of the school year can be a blur of activities that include gathering classroom supplies, picking out new clothes, and getting ready for athletic practices. However, it’s crucial that all families make safety awareness and discussion part of their hectic schedules. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has offered some of the following guidelines on back to school safety.
- Make sure your kids’ coats, jackets and “hoodies” do not have long strings attached to any portion of the garment, top or bottom. The CPSC reported 26 instances of fatalities involving children when a drawstring became stuck in playground equipment, a school bus door and other objects. “New regulations specify that you shouldn’t be able to see more than 3 inches of the string when the clothes are stretched wide,” the agency notes.
- One of the most important accessories in your child’s back to school wardrobe should be a helmet if he or she rides a bike, scooter, skateboard or anything else with wheels to school. The helmet must fit snug and secure (it should not move around on the head), without being uncomfortable or obtrusive. Consult a professional bike shop for the right fit. Helmets that have adjustable back straps for tightness and customizable padding typically work well.
NHTSA Advocates Heightened Laws for Seat Belts, Helmets, and Child Seats
The amount of fatal automobile crashes in the United States is at an all time low. However, according to recent initial projections by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there was still an approximate 32,788 car accidents resulting in death last year. For that reason, the NHTSA issued a number of recommendations to officials and policy makers as part of their latest Status Report publication to highlight safety measures that save lives. Below are summaries of a few of the key suggestions.
- Mandated, primary laws for seat belts and helmets: Seat belts are the single most efficient and effective way to prevent and reduce injuries in vehicle accidents. An approximate 12,713 lives were saved by seat belts in 2009, and another 3,688 could have been saved if every vehicle passenger above five years old had worn one, said the agency. They also stated that in states with primary laws, highway officers can pull over and ticket a vehicle solely for not wearing seat belts, resulting in higher compliance.
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Gel Fuel Recalled By Nine Manufacturers & Distributors Due To Fire Hazard
Due to severe risks of flash fires and burns, nine U.S. manufacturers and distributors recalled pourable gel fuels in their product lines. Gel fuel products are used as an alternative to fire wood. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a release in June of this year notifying consumers of the dangers associated with using fuel gels.
The recent recall includes approximately 2 million product units of different pourable gel fuels encased in one-quart plastic bottles and one-gallon plastic jugs. The products were sold in non-scented and scented formulas for between $5 and $20 since 2008. They have proven to ignite without warning and spray onto people and items nearby when poured into a fire that is still burning.
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Oklahoma Plays Part in Nationwide Fight Against Impaired Driving
In collaboration with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) end of summer battle against impaired driving, Oklahoma is ramping up efforts across state and county lines to assist the clampdown. The NHTSA plan is named “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” and it’s in effect August 19-September 5. According to the administration, the nationwide campaign blends “high-visibility enforcement and public awareness messaging.”
Law officials and state safety offices joined forces during the final weeks of summer, with the height of the project’s efforts during the upcoming high traffic and party laden Labor Day weekend. Each state’s approach is unique depending on its territory, circumstances and resources, so individual measures are profiled on the NHTSA website.
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Understating Employment Law in Oklahoma and Your Legal Rights
Employees are protected under select conditions from harassment, discrimination, defamation, and wrongful termination under federal and state laws. However, because of the complex and nuanced nature of employment law, many workers do not address potentially valid concerns because they lack of proper information or they feel intimidated.
Under employment law, workers are protected from being treated differently based upon specific traits, with regard to situations involving hiring or firing, demotion, harassment. These traits may include race or ethnicity, gender, pregnancy, age, disability, and religion. Workers are also covered from negative employment consequences while exercising employment rights, such as a workers’ compensation claim, a leave of absence under the Family Medical Leave Act, or a report of a company’s violation to a state bureau. Oppositely, if an employer asks an employee to perform something unlawful and they refuse, the employer is not permitted to take negative action in response.
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Air Pistols Recalled Due To Faulty Safety Locks
Umarex USA recently issued a voluntary recall for approximately 9,500 of their Browning 800 Mag Air Pistols due to a faulty safety lock mechanism that may cause the rifles to fire unexpectedly.
In an August 16 release, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reported that “under a variety of circumstances, the safety will not prevent the gun from firing,” which threatens serious injury to the user or bystanders. CPSC also reported that Fort Smith, AR, company has received one account of a pistol malfunction in which it discharged while the safety lock was engaged. At the time of the release, no injuries had been reported.
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Seat Belt Use Rises in Oklahoma But Still Not High Enough
Motor vehicle accidents are the largest source of all injury fatalities in the United States. On average, a person is injured in an accident every nine seconds; every 13 minutes one of those injuries is fatal; and every hour a death is because the driver or passenger failed to buckle up. Neglecting to use a seat belt still plays a larger role in highway deaths than any other single road safety-related violation. In Oklahoma, it’s mandated by primary law that all vehicle occupants 13 years of age and older wear seat beats; and it’s highly advised that all vehicle occupants buckle up.
Data indicates that seat belts are the most successful safety tools in motor vehicles today, calculated to save more than 10,000 lives annually. More than 60 percent of vehicle accident fatalities in 1996 were due to a failure to buckle up. If 90 percent of citizens used seat belts, according to studies, more than 132,000 injuries and 5,500 deaths could be stopped each year.
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Distracted Driving Causes Fatal Car Accident in Grady
In Grady County, Oklahoma, police determined distracted driving to be the cause of a car accident that took the life of a Lawton man in the early morning of August 14. Troopers reported that the driver was potentially reading a text message when the truck deviated from the highway, collided with a guardrail, and flipped one and a half times, according to a story by KTUL. The victim was trapped in the vehicle for about one hour before the Bridgecreek Fire Department was able to free him.
According to the National Safety Council, over 1.3 million vehicle accidents occur every year that are because of distracted driving. Distracted driving is categorized into three primary forms: 1) Visual (such as when a driver takes their eyes off of the road), 2) Manual (such as when a driver takes their hands off of the steering wheel), and 3) Mental (when a driver allows their mind to be taken away from the task of driving).
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Two Teens Seriously Injured in Grain Auger Accident in Kremlin
Two 17-year-old boys working at Zaloudek Grain Company in Kremlin, OK, sustained serious leg injuries and remain in critical condition after an accident involving a grain auger. The teenagers are high school seniors from different schools, both on the honor roll and active in sports; one attends Kremlin-Hillsdale High School and the other goes to Chisholm High School.
Emergency responders received a frantic 911 call the morning of August 4 from a representative at Zaloudek, according to the report, stating that there was a “kid in an auger.” A grain auger is an industrial metal platform system used to move grain from the ground to higher levels in the factory or to trucks. Emergency personnel from the Kremlin Fire Department were the first to arrive and were supported by neighboring departments to rescue the teenagers. Among the officials who provided service at the scene were members of the Hillsdale-Carrier, Enid, Breckinridge, Hunter, and Pond Creek fire departments, Garfield County Sheriff’s Office, Life EMS, Garfield County Emergency Management office, and EagleMed.
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