Children with Personal Injuries

Published on: September 22, 2009

Questions Remain After Child’s Death in Atlanta School Bus Accident

Questions Remain After Child’s Death in Atlanta School Bus Accident

Earlier this week, a 5-year-old boy was killed when he was run over by a school bus. The driver of the bus has now been charged with homicide by vehicle second degree.

On Tuesday afternoon, Everett Johnson had just gotten off his school bus. According to witnesses at the accident site, Everett was walking in front of the bus, and dropped his book and bag. He was bending over to pick them up when he was struck by the bus, which had begun to move forward. Everett came under the right front tire. He was rushed to the hospital, but died later.

Published on: April 29, 2009

Four Year Old Boy Severely Injured in Rockland County Dog Bite Attack

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

A 4-year-old Rockland County boy, who was severely mauled in a dog bite attack, is looking at skin graft surgery to fix the injuries, as well as surgery to fox his ear. Nathaniel Stafford was attacked by a Labrador-pit bull mix that his family had been looking after for its owner. His mother found the boy with his head gripped in the dog’s mouth. The pit bull mix was shaking him violently. The boy’s mother pulled him away, and suffered a bite on her arm in the process.

By the time the terrifying ordeal had ended, much of Nathaniel’s scalp had been ripped apart and his ear had been torn off. His stepfather picked up the ear, and put it in a bag to reattach in the hospital. The doctors have not been able to confirm whether they will be reattaching his ear, or if he will need to have a prosthetic ear attached.

Nathaniel is bound to be traumatized after the dog bite attack. Beside the serious head injuries and the mutilated ear, the boy also suffered throat lacerations. He is an animal lover, although how he will react to any dog from here on, is debatable. The dog’s owner meanwhile has agreed to have the dog which is currently being held in quarantine at an animal shelter, put down.

Published on: July 2, 2008

Six Flags Ride Kills Teen

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

On Saturday, June 28^th, seventeen year-old Asia LeeShawn Ferguson, was decapitated when he was struck by the Batman roller coaster at Six Flags over Georgia in Austell, Georgia.

Witnesses report that Ferguson, who was with his family and a church group from South Carolina, scaled two perimeter fences with another teenage friend and entered a danger zone inside the ride area.

Although some witnesses indicate Ferguson was trying to retrieve a lost hat or possibly touch the feet of riders on the ride, Cobb County police dismissed those rumors as unsubstantiated.Instead, Ferguson and his friend may simply have been trying to re-enter the park from the parking lot rather than using the main entrance as required.

Published on: April 29, 2008

School Bus Accidents Rampant in April

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

April has been a bad month for school bus accidents.We covered this subject in March when a Cherokee County school bus overturned and several students were taken to area hospitals.Since then, school bus accidents continue to be the subject of local news programs across the country.Many students suffered serious personal injuries as a result.

Monday morning of this week, two Pope High School students were injured when a car, driven by a teenage driver, ran up on the sidewalk and struck them.A fifteen-year-old girl was flown by helicopter to Children’s Hospital at Scottish Rite and is in critical condition.A seventeen-year-old boy was taken to Kennestone Hospital and treated and released.

The driver of the Jeep, Corey O’Connell, was driving northbound when a Nissan Maxima stopped in front of him to make a left-hand turn.He did not see the stopped car in time, swerved onto the sidewalk, and ran over a fire hydrant and an electrical box before striking the students with his vehicle.He has been charged with following too closely and failure to maintain his lane.

Published on: March 12, 2008

Students Injured in Canton Bus Accident

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

A school bus carrying 27 students overturned on March 3, 2008 in Canton, Georgia.Twenty-six students were taking to area hospitals, but none were seriously injured.The driver, Luis Monserrate, was charged with failure to maintain a lane.

According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the driver let the school bus dip off the roadway onto the shoulder.He then overcorrected, causing the bus to veer off the road.The bus clipped a utility pole and then overturned.

Currently, there are 585,000 school buses in use in the nation.Over twenty-three million children travel on school buses each year.The Transportation Research Board reports that school buses are the safest mode of transportation for students. School bus accidents account for 6000 injuries annually and 20 deaths.Compared to incidents caused by adult drivers transporting students in a private vehicle, these cause 51,000 injuries and 169 deaths annually.Most deaths occur from students boarding or exiting buses.