As Pittsburgh slowly heats up, so do concerns of heat-related injuries and death. Hot days can see increased levels of injuries in young children. From pool accidents to heat exhaustion on the football field, the spring and summer are ample times for injury in the younger population.

One of the most common concerns cited with increasingly hot days is accidents in which children are left in hot cars. This may often lead to death, greatly impacting families across Pittsburgh and the rest of Pennsylvania. Call a Pittsburgh children’s injuries attorney from Shenderovich Shenderovich & Fishman today for more information regarding your options after an accident involving a child left in a hot car.

Concern for Children’s Safety in Pittsburgh

One of the primary concerns for many members of the Pittsburgh community concerns the hot car injuries and deaths of children. This event occurs when a parent, guardian, or supervisor leaves a child in a car for prolonged periods of time in which they may be susceptible to overheating. This is an especially important concern as we move into the warmer months of spring and summer.

With rising temperatures and humidity levels, cars can effectively act as greenhouses when left in the sun without running AC or ventilation. Light and heat penetrate the transparent windows of cars with no means of escape – allowing for rising temperatures on the inside. Heightened temperatures such as these are not survivable for most children, especially those younger than 15 years old. In fact, heatstroke was named as the leading cause of non-crash, vehicle-related deaths for children under the age of 14.

Tips for Avoiding Heat-Related Car Deaths in Your Community

It is important to remember that to avoid hot car deaths, parents with children must frequently check their back seats every time they get in and out of their cars. This way, it will become much more difficult to accidentally leave one of their children in the car amongst the stressors of everyday life. In addition, it is suggested that friends and family frequently check in with parents who may have a habit of leaving their children or belongings in the car for even a couple of minutes.

Finally, it may be helpful for some to leave some of their most important items like cell phones, wallets, purses, work bags, and other valuables in the backseat while they are driving so that it is properly checked before getting out of the car. Other utilities such as alarms, apps, and more could be utilized to jog the memory of a forgetful parent or guardian.

Public responses to the deaths of young children in hot cars have also gained traction in a legal sense. The Cash Edwin Jordan Act of Alabama is a great example of one of these pushes. This act would require daycares to call the child’s parent or guardian if the child has not been dropped off by 9:30 AM each morning – regardless of the daycare status as a public or private business. Additionally, some car manufacturers are pushing for changes in car mechanisms to avoid incidents such as these from occurring.

The Leading Child Injury Attorney in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The safety of children in our community is of our utmost importance at Shenderovich Shenderovich & Fishman. We are an experienced personal injury firm operating out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. You can call one of our Pittsburgh children’s injuries attorneys today at 888-98 TWINS (8-9467) at any time of the day to discuss how we can help you after an accident involving a child left in a hot car.

Summer is around the corner and that means right now is the time parents are signing up for summer camps before the available spots fill up. Pittsburgh offers a lot of truly incredible summer camps for children of all ages. Gone are the days of one size fits all summer camps as camps are becoming more streamlined and geared towards particular themes and interests. Pittsburgh children injuries attorneys know that parents not only trust that their children are going to gain social and educational experiences at camp, but that their children are also going to be safe and well cared for. Unfortunately, children are not always safe and well cared for at summer camps and children sometimes sustain injuries in accidents caused by someone else’s negligence.

Types of Pittsburgh summer camps

With so many different types of summer camps, parents frequently find themselves dropping one child off at one camp and a second child off at a different camp because different camps are tailored towards different personalities and interests. See below for a variety of types of children’s summer camps offered in the Pittsburgh area.

• Science and technology camps involve many different aspects of science and technology such as robotics, coding, experiments, and drones.
• Performing arts camps are geared towards kids who love theatre and dramatics.
• Art camps involve learning about art techniques and art history.
• Horse camps where children learn to ride and care for horses.
• Museum camps focusing on history, art, and nature.
• Sports camps are geared towards a particular sport or a variety of sports.
• Parks and nature camps where children learn about nature and the environment.

Other activities

Summer camps have plenty of activities to keep children active and entertained such as playgrounds, hikes, bicycles, paddle boats, bounce houses, and ball pits to name a few. Unfortunately, with all of these fun activities and with the large number of kids attending camp, accidents are bound to happen. Many of these accidents are simply innocent accidents, but sometimes these accidents are caused by summer camp operators and counselors’ wrongful conduct.

Causes of summer camp accidents and injuries

• Negligently maintained or defective toys and equipment
• Poor supervision of children
• Poorly maintained camp facilities
• Improper activity protections and equipment
• Summer camp shuttle or van accidents
• Swimming pool accidents

Waiver

Most summer camps will require parents and guardians to sign a waiver that releases camps and camp counselors from liability for children’s injuries sustained at camps. Unfortunately, as Pittsburgh children’s injuries attorneys know, waivers often discourage parents from filing claims against summer camp companies because they assume that signing a waiver means that they are prohibited from filing a lawsuit for injuries their children suffer at summer camp. Waivers do release summer camp entities and individual camp employees from some types of liability, but not all liability.

If your child sustained injuries due to someone else’s wrongful conduct, they should be held accountable and your child should be compensated. Contact a personal injury attorney at Shenderovich, Shenderovich & Fishman for a free consultation.

As parents, we try our best to do everything we can right in our child’s life. It’s a very true statement that any parent will attest to: it doesn’t matter what the child looks or sounds like as long as they are safe and healthy. Parents spend so much energy and money in products that ensure the safety and health of their children. Unfortunately, even though the product is marketed in such a way to promote the safety and health of your child, that isn’t always the case. In some instances, the products we use every day or the products we buy for surprises at birthday parties and special occasions, do not act on those same principles. Accidents happen, we know and understand, but when those accidents cause serious injury or long-term harm then we as parents need to act.

Our Children Injury Attorneys in Pittsburgh at Shenderovich, Shenderovich, and Fishman understand the importance of protecting your children and ensuring that they are safe and healthy when using products. We believe in this so strongly that we have dedicated our practice to this specialty. No parent should have to watch their child or children suffer due to a negligent act of some person or party. No child or children should suffer from a toy or product that they have no control over. Our Children Injury Attorneys in Pittsburgh Shenderovich, Shenderovich, and Fishman want you to know that when you choose our law firm you are not only choosing to win, but you have a plethora of attorneys who are waiting to hear your story and help you out.

When To Call? Now

Did you know that there is a website dedicated to researching, documenting, and notifying parents when products are being recalled? This site is dedicated to ensuring that the information for recall is out there concerning products that are currently sold to and used by our youth today. Safekids.org provides monthly reports of companies recalls. In 2018 alone there is not a month that has under 10 recalls. 10 recalls! That is a staggering number. Have you checked any recalls lately?

We think, as consumers, that companies have followed every precaution and have used every test to ensure the perfection of their products before they hit the shelves. We as consumers expect that he engineers and manufacturers who make these products adhere to a strict code of ethics when making these products. We know that accidents happen, but at what risk? Our children’s’ lives?

If you are a parent whose child or children were injured due to a defective product do not hesitate to reach out to us as soon as possible. Our law offices at Shenderovich, Shenderovich, and Fishman in Pittsburgh have a track record of winning claims and ensuring that you have the financial means to ease the burden of injury and debt caused by the injury. Call us at 888-98-TWINS(89467) or click here to start your journey to victory with us today.