According to the NHTSA, most school bus accidents involve children as they are getting down from or boarding a bus, and not when they are actually riding a bus.  Teach your child the basics of school bus safety.

• Leave home early so that you can arrive at the bus stop well before the bus arrives.  That’ll help you avoid having to run to the bus, always a dangerous thing to do.
• While at the bus stop, stand 6 feet away and wait till the bus comes to a complete stop before you begin to board the bus.
• Hold on to the handrails tight as you climb the bus, and make sure that your bag or clothing isn’t entangled in the railing.
• Be alert, when you get off the bus.
• If you have to cross the road alone, take extra care as you come out from behind or from the front of the bus.  Remember, motorists will see a school bus stopped at a stop, but will not be expecting children to come darting out from behind the bus.
• Never walk behind a school bus.
• If you drop something just outside the bus, yell out to the driver to alert him before you bend to pick it up.

It’s also time to start driving carefully around school zones.  Look out for more numbers of children on the sidewalks.  Also remember to drop speeds in a school zone, and look out for kids walking out from behind cars and stopped school buses.

Children who bike to school must wear well fitting helmets.  Make sure that your child’s bike is in good condition, and give it an inspection before he/she begins using it again.

• If they received plenty of love and affection from their parents
• If their parents kept track of their movements outside the home

Not so surprisingly, children whose parents showered them with love and affection and at the same time, were strict about their movements outside the home, had lower incidences of binge drinking, and had more responsible drinking practices.  Children, whose parents were very loving, but not too strict about activities outside the home, had their risk of binge drinking increase by at least three times.  Children whose parents were strict, but did not show too much affection, had a risk of binge drinking that was twice as high as children whose parents were both loving and strict.

It’s obvious from the study that a combination of love and support, and setting rules and enforcing these, can help prevent alcohol-related excesses among teenage motorists.  That shouldn’t exactly be a surprise to a Houston DWI lawyer or a Houston car accident lawyer, but it’s good to see that what we’ve known all along has been proved scientifically.

It’s also a reminder that although you may not be able to control all the insane things your teenagers are capable of doing, there is much that you can do to prevent them from driving under the influence, binge drinking, and other kinds of dangerous behavior.  Let your teenager know he’s loved and wanted at home, and keep track of what he’s doing outside the home-that seems to be all it takes.

If you or a loved one has been affected by a DWI, contact the Husband & Wife legal team at the Kahn Law Firm by calling 713-226-9900 today for a free, confidential consultation.

A new rule requiring a range of children’s products to come with product registration cards went into effect this  month. Under the rule, a number of products including play yards, strollers, cribs, walkers, bassinets, baby slings, baby carriers, stationary activity centers, bath seats and a number of other infants’ and toddlers’ products will have to come with registration cards that allow the consumer to register the product with the manufacturer.

As Houston injury lawyers and parents of toddlers, we know that there definitely is a need for a rule like this. Very often, parents continue to remain unaware of recalls even after notices have been splashed across the media. Parents continue to use defective products like cribs or highchairs, even after a recall has been announced, placing the children at a risk of serious injury. With the product registered with the manufacturer, it’s much easier for the company to inform parents about the recall.

Just how beneficial these cards can be is seen from the fact that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has required child car seats to come with registration cards for many years now. These products have a high recall response rate among parents, because manufacturers can contact consumers to inform them of the recall. With this new rule, all the products that are included in the list will come with such cards.

You might have to wait a while to find these cards available with all products. It may be a few months before all manufacturers begin adding registration cards to their infants’ products.

The Early Show investigators visited a number of dealers to buy ATVs for a child. They found that dealers were willing to sell adult-sized ATVs, even when they knew that these would be used by a child under 16 years of age. The findings are shocking to Houston injury lawyers who know that these vehicles can be potentially fatal when handled by a child of this age.

However, those findings were not the only ones confirming that dealers may be willing to indulge in unethical selling practices. An earlier undercover investigation by the Government Accountability Office revealed similar findings. Out of every 10 ATV dealers, seven were likely to sell adult-sized ATVs for use by a young child, in some cases even persuading parents to buy their child adult-sized ATVs because kids would soon get tired of youth-sized vehicles.

This is even as the ATV manufacturing industry continues to insist that it only recommends adult-sized ATVs for children above the age of 16. The recommendations have very little meaning when their dealers push sales of adult-sized ATVs for children. Obviously, there’s some disconnect between what the manufacturers are saying and what their dealers on the street are actually doing.

With more numbers of children riding ATVs during summer, we would highly recommend that you only allow your below-16 year old child  to ride a child-sized ATV, and that too only after he undergoes a safety training program. Adult-sized ATVs are exactly that – only meant for adults. A child can suffer serious injuries in an ATV accident, when the vehicle tips over and he is pinned underneath.

If you or your child has been injured as a result of an ATV accident, contact the Texas injury lawyers at the Kahn Law Firm at 713-226-9900 or toll free at 1-877-226-9940.

The companies that have recalled these cribs are

• Evenflo, which has recalled 750,000 Jenny Lind Cribs
• Delta Enterprise Corp., which has recalled 747,000 dropside cribs
• La Jobi, which has recalled 306,000 cribs, including the Babi Italia and Bonavita cribs.
• Million Dollar Baby, which has recalled 156,000 cribs
• Jardine Enterprises, which has recalled 130,000 cribs
• Simmons, which has recalled 50,000 cribs
• Child Craft

In the case of Child Craft, both dropside cribs as well as stationary side cribs, are being recalled. The number of cribs being recalled by this company is unclear, because the company is currently out of business. If your child’s crib is manufactured by any of these companies, visit the company’s website to find out if your crib is on the recall list. You can also check all recalled crib model numbers on the CPSC website.

This recall is the latest in a series of efforts made by the Consumer Product Safety Commission to eradicate dropside cribs from the market. These cribs, at one time, were some of the most popular cribs in American homes. CPSC chairperson Inez Tenenbaum however, announced that the agency will be developing stronger standards for cribs that will be available by the end of 2010. The new standards are likely to include a ban on the manufacture and sale of dropside cribs.

That is not a decision that will go down well with parents who love dropside cribs. These are especially useful for petite mothers, and others who find it hard to reach down into a crib to lift a baby, and later, a potentially heavy toddler. However, it’s clear that existing dropside designs are defective and unsafe, and until the CPSC manages to develop stronger crib designs, Houston injury lawyers would recommend parents avoid using dropside cribs.

If your child has been injured or killed because of a recalled crib, contact the child injury lawyers at The Kahn Law Firm today at 713-226-9900 or toll free at 1-877-226-9940.

On June 17, 2010, Campbells announced a recall of 15 million pounds of Spaghetti Os with Meatballs.  The recall is due to a cooker at the Paris, Texas plant that has been malfunctioning for an unknown amount of time.  The cooker is responsible for cooking the meatballs and the meat hasn’t been getting the proper amount of heat.

The recalled products include SpaghettiOs with Meatballs, SpaghettiOs A to Z with Meatballs, and SpaghettiOs Fun Shapes with Meatballs (Cars). The cans have the plant code “EST 4K” on them and a “use by” date of June 2010 through December 2011.  The recall includes 35,000 cans of SpaghettiOs.  If you have questions, you can call the company at Campbell’s Hotline at (866) 495-3774.

Some witnesses have come forward to say that the car had been racing with a blue car just before the crash. A police officer had been following the car just before the accident, and Houston police are checking out the video footage on his dashboard camera to find out more about the crash. Thus far, alcohol use does not seem to have been a factor here.

This is probably the right time to bring attention to the fact that motor vehicle accidents continue to be the single biggest factor in teen fatalities. More than 40% of all deaths of persons between the age of 15 and 19 occur in an auto accident. That is an unfortunate fact, and parents must get more involved to reduce the odds that their child could be killed in an accident.

Right now, the odds are simply not in favor of teen motorists. These drivers have far too many distractions from cell phones and from their fellow passengers. They are also under heavy peer pressure to indulge in reckless driving. Drunk driving rates in this age group are some of the highest among any age groups. In 2008, teen motorists comprised just 8% of the American population, but constituted 12 percent of all accident fatalities.

As Houston accident lawyers, we would offer the following advice for parents of teen motorists – there is no law that says that your child has to begin driving at 14, 15 or 16. You are the best judge of whether your child can be a safe driver. If he seems reckless, or prone to aggressiveness, you have every right to postpone driving privileges for him for as long as you want.

Our thoughts and prayers go to the families and friends of the deceased teenager as well as the two that were severely injured.

The recall comes after a warning issued in March of 2010 by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The warning was targeted towards parents who have taken to using soft, fabric baby slings to carry their children around. Baby slings are replacing strollers as many parents’ preferred means of transporting their little ones around. These slings are soft and comfortable, and there are benefits to be had from holding your baby close to you for hours. Unfortunately, all this seems to come with dangerous hazards.

For one thing, babies can easily suffocate inside bag-style slings. There’ve also been reports of babies falling out of the slings, and injuring themselves. Babies below four months of age, premature babies and babies suffering from a cold or any other respiratory illness, may be at a higher risk of suffocating inside the slings. If your baby falls into any of these categories, Houston injury lawyers would advise you to consider using a baby carrier and not a sling, at least until your baby is old enough to hold his neck and head upright.

It’s also worth asking why this recall comes three years after the death of the Texas infant. The delayed recall only indicates that Houston product liability attorneys and parents need to continue their concern over the failure of the CPSC to protect American consumers. Parents and consumer safety groups have, for long, criticized the agency for the bureaucratic hurdles that cause it to be unable to take actions that protect American consumers. There’s no reason why it should take two years after the death of a 10-day-old baby in a baby sling to be traced to a particular product, and for the product to be recalled from the market.

If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of the negligence of someone else, contact the Husband & Wife Legal Team today for a free case evaluation at 713-226-9900.

Elevated levels of cadmium have been found in the paint used on the glasses. Long term exposure to cadmium can have negative health effects.  It is a known carcinogen and has been linked to softened bones and severe kidney problems. The potential danger with the cadmium on these glasses would be long term exposure from continued use with the metal leaching into a child’s skin and then that child putting an unwashed hand into his or her mouth.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)  recommends discontinuing use of these glasses immediately due to the elevated levels of cadmium.  McDonalds  announced that next week they will have instructions on their website about returning the glasses for a refund.

If you have been in an accident or injured as the result of the negligence of another, contact the Husband & Wife Legal Team at The Kahn Law Firm today for a free case review at 713-226-9900.

About 50% of the fatalities occurred because a parent left the child in the vehicle, got distracted and forgot about the child. But a third of the fatalities involved an unattended child who gained access into a car and was unable to get out.

There’s one thing that parents and caregivers must understand when it comes to leaving children in closed cars. Temperatures can quickly rise, especially in the kind of weather that we have now. Very soon, internal temperatures can reach up to 80°. Add to that that the fact that the body chemistry of little babies and small children causes their bodies to heat up five times faster than an adult body does, and you have a recipe for tragedy.  Small babies, and even toddlers, may not know how to roll down the window, open the door or otherwise help themselves. They have no idea why they’re feeling as uncomfortable as they are, and by the time their parents return to the vehicle, it may be too late.

Now, a group of more than 40 safety organizations including Alliance of Automobile Manufactures and Safe Kids USA have launched a campaign to check these entirely preventable deaths. They have the following tips for parents and others:

• If you see a child alone in a vehicle, call 911 immediately. You could possibly avert a tragedy.
• Set your cell phone alarm or PDA to prompt you when it’s time to drop your child off at daycare.
• Have an alert on your computer to prod you if you have left your child at daycare.
• Never leave your child unattended in a vehicle. Even a few minutes can be enough to cause heatstroke and suffocation.

With summer coming up on us, Houston personal injury lawyers would encourage parents to take extra care about leaving children unattended in vehicles and prevent such a terrible tragedy.