Articles Posted in Child Injury

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A family faced devastating tragedy on Manhattan’s Upper West Side on the morning of Tuesday, June 4, when a teenager driving his parent’s SUV without a license struck and killed a four-year-old and injured her grandmother. According to authorities, the accident occurred at West 97th Street and Amsterdam Avenue around 8:15 a.m. Franklin Reyes, the seventeen-year-old teenager driving the SUV, a Nissan Frontier, crashed into a restaurant on the ground floor of an apartment building where four-year-old Ariel Russo and her fifty-eight-year-old grandmother Katie Gutierrez were located. Both Russo and Gutierrez were pinned against a gate and as Reyes reversed, he may have struck both females again.

Authorities believe that Reyes was operating the Frontier at approximately 34 mph at the time of the accident, which is 4 mph over the speed limit on New York City streets. Both Russo and Gutierrez were transported to a local hospital following the crash. Russo was pronounced dead after arriving at the hospital, but Gutierrez is in stable condition.

Officers had attempted to stop the Frontier about ten blocks south of the accident scene when they noticed wide turns from far lanes and reckless driving. Although Reyes initially pulled the Frontier over, as two officers approached the car, he sped away. This is when Reyes headed north and made a left onto 97th street, where he crashed into the building. Reyes was arrested at the scene on charges of manslaughter and vehicular manslaughter. He was transported to the hospital after complaining of difficulty breathing. Authorities state that Reyes had a permit, but not a driver’s license, and was operating his parent’s vehicle without permission. Police are investigating whether Reyes’ lack of driving experience contributed to the accident.

Child killed by car after driver flees car stop, www.palmbeachpost.com June 4, 2013

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brindle bulldog.jpg A seven-year-old boy was pronounced dead one week after being attacked by a neighbor’s bulldogs while riding his bicycle. The Bay County Sheriff’s Office informed local media that Tyler Jett was pronounced dead at a Pensacola hospital Sunday afternoon. The cause of death was a punctured carotid artery.

Last Tuesday, April 2, the young boy was riding his bicycle in his neighborhood after school when two dogs, one an Alapaha blood bulldog and the other a brindle bulldog, attacked him. The two bulldogs belonged to Edward Daniels Jr. Jett’s family members rushed to his aid and chased the bulldogs back to Daniels’ residence, but it was unfortunately too late, for the young boy had already suffered what turned out to be a fatal injury. Daniels faces a number of charges, including drug charges, manslaughter, and tampering with evidence.

Panhandle boy dies after attack by bulldogs, www.miamiherald.com April 08, 2013

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A four-year-old boy is in an Orlando hospital after nearly drowning on a cruise ship while it was docked at Port Canaveral. The child was aboard the Disney Fantasy cruise ship Saturday afternoon before it embarked on a journey through the Caribbean.

Rena Langley, Disney Cruise Line spokeswoman, stated that the child was unresponsive when he was taken out of the pool around 3:30 p.m. The boy was first taken to a local Port Canaveral hospital, but was then transported to Orlando’s Arnold Palmer Children’s Hospital. As of Tuesday, there was no update on the boy’s condition. Disney Cruise Line is focusing on assisting the family during this time of need. The incident occurred as the ship was preparing to depart for the western Caribbean. Port Canaveral police conducted an investigation and released the ship to leave port about forty-five minutes after its scheduled departure time.

Boy, 4, nearly drowns on Disney cruise ship, www.palmbeachpost.com April 02, 2013

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Ethan V. Estrada, the seven-year-old son of a Charlotte County, Florida deputy, was killed Tuesday after he was run over by a car in a driveway. The Florida Highway Patrol reported that Estrada was in the driveway of a Port Charlotte home when Terrence Hunter of Ontario, Canada slowly backed out of a garage in his 2009 Hyundai Sonata.

As Hunter backed his vehicle out the garage and down the curving driveway, the left-front tire struck and rolled over Estrada. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Estrada was then transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell offered his condolences Wednesday to Deputy Kevin Estrada and his family members.

7-year-old Florida boy killed in driveway, www.palmbeachpost.com March 28, 2013

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Two Miami Gardens middle school girls are in stable condition and recovering after being thrown from a van on their way home from school Wednesday. The girls, Genesis Miller and Tonja Carter, and two other children boarded the van they ride home every day from Norland Middle School. The van was heading north on Northwest 12th Avenue at 199th Street when it was struck by an eastbound-traveling Nissan Altima. Upon impact, Miller and Carter were ejected from the van.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue quickly arrived on scene and transported both girls to Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital. Miller arrived in stable condition, only having suffered minor scrapes and bruising. Carter was in critical condition, but by later in the evening was declared stable as well. She was transferred to the pediatric intensive care unit that night, having suffered cuts, bruising, a broken leg, and bleeding on the brain described by police as “not serious.” Carter also experienced difficulty breathing and was placed on a respirator. Thankfully, none of her injuries will require surgery.

The driver of the Nissan Altima told police that he suffered a heart attack immediately prior to the accident. However, hospital staff performed tests and determined that was not the case. They are awaiting results of other tests to determine if the driver experienced another medical episode. The van driver and two other children in the vehicle were not seriously injured as a result of the accident.

Children thrown from van in Miami Gardens crash are recovering, www.miamiherald.com February 7, 2013

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Golden Glades Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, a Miami Gardens nursing home, will close its 60-bed children’s unit after years of harsh criticism. The facility stands at the center of a bitter dispute over Florida’s system of care for extremely sick and disabled children. In recent years, it has been linked to the deaths of two young, severely disabled children in as many years, and a $300,000 federal fine as a result of one of those deaths.

Last year Golden Glades Nursing & Rehabilitation Center housed thirty children, although it currently only houses nineteen children. The nursing home is one of six licensed in Florida to care for children. Since June, it has sought to streamline the transfer of children back into their private homes. The facility donated a special bed with protective netting to one family, to protect their son from falling out of bed or injuring himself, as he suffers from frequent spasms and movements. It is also raising private funds to build a wheelchair ramp. Social workers and administrators at the facility have been collaborating with Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration (ACHA) to give parents and other caregivers who had children at the facility transfer options as the facility prepares to close its doors. Parents of fifteen of the children currently living at the facility have chosen to transfer their children to other residential pediatric care facilities.

The U.S. Department of Justice has accused the state of cutting funds too deeply that go to in-home care for frail children. Parent are often left with “no choice but to institutionalize their loved ones.” Gwen Wurm, the head of the medical foster care program for Jackson Health Systems denounced the Golden Glades Nursing and Rehabilitation Center’s approach since it has decided to close the facility. She stated that “[t]hey should have . . . met with every parent and every family to come up with an array of services that made it possible to allow more of those children to be in a home.” Dr. Durell Peaden Jr. agreed and further stated that Florida needs to “redesign” its system of care for these children.

Under fire, Miami-Dade nursing home closing its pediatric unit, www.miamiherald.com January 31, 2013

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A young Kentucky boy had his nose reattached this week after he was mauled in a pit bull attack. Ten-year-old Matthew Weaver was visiting a friend’s home and playing in the yard with two others and the dog, before he was attacked. The play made the dog rowdy, so the dog’s owner brought the children and the dog into the home. While sitting on the couch next to the dog, Matthew was staring at the animal, when the pit bull lunged at him, bit off his nose and swallowed it. Matthew suffered other small wounds, including a split lip and a small puncture wound on his forehead.

Matthew was taken to Kosair Children’s Hospital for surgery, while the dog, which had no prior history of violence, was euthanized. Matthew’s nose was recovered from the dog’s stomach and doctors were able to reattach it. Matthew’s great uncle stated that the reattached nose “looks as good as you can possibly imagine after something like that.” Doctors anticipate that the reattachment surgery will be a success, but must wait a few days to be sure. Police stated that Matthew is handling the attack as best as possible and is recovering well at the Children’s Hospital.

Ky. boy recovering after pit bull bites off nose, www.palmbeachpost.com January 11, 2013

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State officials were on site today, visiting a Miami Gardens nursing home that is currently under investigation over its treatment of “medically fragile children” in its care. These fragile children, who are in the care of the State of Florida, have been living at Golden Glades Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, which is a nursing home that was fined heavily by the federal government after a 14- year old Tampa girl was taken there against her mother’s wishes and died less than 12 hours after arrival. The Department of Children & Families oversees these children in the home.

David Wilkins, DCF Secretary, was at the nursing home after Florida’s privately run foster care agency in Miami, Our Kids, removed two of the five children from the care of the nursing home. One of the children was immediately sent to a Broward medical center. After DCF leaders filed a complaint, the state Agency for Health Care Administration opened a formal investigation of the nursing home. No safety concerns were immediately found, but child-welfare officials still have serious concerns about the home.

During Wilkins’s visit, a nurse overseeing the dependent children in the nursing home noted that detailed care-giving instructions for these children were ignored. Also, one of the home’s doctors abruptly resigned last week. The home’s pediatrician is supposed to see the children on a daily, if not weekly basis, but had not seen most of the children in weeks. These failures are what prompted DCF and Our Kids to remove children from the home and send them back to their parents or other medical foster homes, but two children will remain indefinitely because they cannot be physically moved.

DCF chief inspects Miami Gardens nursing home where girl died, www.miamiherald.com December 19, 2012.

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Florida has been on the radar of many child-welfare agencies after it was discovered that the state has been funneling sick and disabled children into nursing homes designed for elderly patients. The Department of Children & Families has created new policies essentially raising the bar for children to be admitted to nursing homes. The new policies require “high-level approval before any child in state care can be admitted to a nursing home, or move from any institution to another.” DCF is also seeking out more foster parents who are trained and willing to care for special needs children in an effort to reduce the need for nursing homes.

DCF has custody of almost 15% of children who currently live in nursing homes, but child-welfare bosses have no authority of the care of the minors once they go into the nursing homes. According to insiders, this new policy states that DCF no longer favors institutionalizing children, which goes against the Agency for Health Care Administration, “whose funding formula has forced some parents to put their disabled kids into institutions.”

AHCA’s decision to place children in the nursing homes has come under fire by both state and federal officials. Notably, the United States Department of Justice has threatened to sue the state for violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which “requires that people with disabilities be allowed to live and receive care outside large, segregated institutions.” Federal officials state that forcing children to live in adult nursing homes causes isolation and lack of socialization that can curtail their development and lead to psychological disorders; further, at many nursing homes, children receive little education or stimulation and “spend their days in virtual isolation.”

DCF wants its kids out of nursing homes, www.miamiherald.com December 04, 2012.

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New reports state that New Mexico may have to pay as much as $120 million for a potential class action lawsuit. The suit has already paid out $45 million in settlements to 118 families since 1998, but an estimated 101 new medical malpractice claims have arisen. The University of New Mexico hospital disclosed that in 1998, “children appeared not to have been given the newest drug therapies for acute lymphoblastic leukemia from 1989 to October 1996.” The state has only allotted $19.6 million for pediatric oncology cases.

The state has been forced to reassess its liability exposure. Initially, the estimate was based on the states $1.05 million tort claim cap. The agency is not seeking additional funds in future budges to help pay for the losses. Because the University of New Mexico is a state institution and because the state is self-insured, taxpayers will be responsible for the payout.

The lawsuits begin against the hospital and cancer physician Marilyn Duncan, chief of pediatric oncology, arose after the hospital announced in 1998, “that about 110 children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia from 1989 and 1196 didn’t receive recommended care.” Duncan, who was forced to leave after the announcement, still contends that the treatments given to children were “medically appropriate and effective.” Duncan has since surrendered her license to practice medicine in New Mexico.

None of the claims against the hospital have gone to trial to date, but a potential class action lawsuit filed in 2001 is still pending. The suit has been brought on behalf of two parents who children died. The lawsuit contends that “the patients and their families share some common issues, such as not being adequately informed by UNM about the treatments they were receiving and about the risks of treatments proposed…and that patients and their families were dissuaded from seeking second opinions.”

Study: More cancer suits may cost NM millions, www.palmbeachpost.com December 07, 2012

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