Labor Day weekend typically marks the end of summer and the start of the school year. It also means more children on the sidewalks and more high school drivers and buses on the roads during the morning and afternoon hours.
How can we ensure that our children are safe from car accidents? What can we do to drive safely around children? And how can we hold negligent drivers responsible when a child is injured in a car accident?
How can we ensure our children are safe?
As we send our young children off to school, or leave them on the bus stop, it is vital to teach them the rules of the road. Even if you have told your children to look both ways before crossing the road and to stay off the road while playing at the bus stop, the start of school is a great time to remind them.
Teach them to make eye contact with their bus driver before crossing the street in front of the bus and to use both their eyes and ears whenever they cross a street. Tell them to wait for the bus driver to stop completely before boarding the bus.
It might also be helpful to create a map of your children’s route to school or the bus stop and to walk with them for a few days to help them become accustomed to it.
Finally, if your children are driving into school, make sure that they know and follow all traffic laws. Teenagers are prone to stay up late and school requires them to wake up early. If they seem too tired to drive, they probably are. Recommend that they take the bus on days after long nights.
What can we do to drive safely around children?
Of course, it is not all up to the kids. Tired drivers going into or returning from work must also take steps to prevent accidents.
No matter what time of day, watch out for kids crossing the street (with or without crossing guards), expect kids at bus stops to run into the street (because they will) and go the speed limit. Many accidents are caused by drivers who are simply not paying attention to what is going on around them. You should be constantly scanning the road and sidewalks to watch for dangers.
How can we hold negligent parties responsible after a child is injured?
Inattentive drivers who cause child pedestrian accidents, bus accidents or other accidents involving children should be held accountable for the injuries they cause. If your child was injured by a negligent driver, you can bring a personal injury claim against the driver. To learn more about personal injury claims, please see our web pages on car accidents.
Before stating an ex-police officer’s sentence, a Connecticut judge said, “You should have known better.” The former Windsor Locks officer now faces five years and four months in prison, a short sentence for his crime: He hit and killed a 15-year old bicyclist after deciding to drive drunk.
The ex-officer was going 70 mph down a residential street when he hit the teenager. According to witnesses, he had been drinking for quite some time before the accident. He pleaded no contest to second-degree manslaughter, which allowed him to make a plea bargain with prosecutors.
Yet, prosecutors could not charge the ex-officer with DUI because officers did not do a blood test. According to authorities, the officer’s own father, also a police Sergeant, responded to the accident. He and other officers at the scene failed to test the man’s blood alcohol level or question him about DUI.
Wrongful death after a drunk driving accident
In addition to the criminal conviction, the family was able to bring a wrongful death suit against the ex-officer. The suit settled for $420,000. Generally, certain family members can recover compensation for the following damages through a wrongful death claim:
- Medical bills
- Funeral expenses
- The value of the victim’s lost earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium
The family also brought a lawsuit against the owner of the tavern that continued to provide alcohol to the drunk driver even after he was visibly drunk. This type of lawsuit falls under the “Dram Shop Act,” a law that requires liquor providers to stop serving alcohol to a visibly intoxicated person. Plaintiffs can recover up to $250,000 under the Dram Shop Act.
Of course, no amount of time in prison or money can compensate a family for the loss of their loved one. As the family put it, the officer “took something precious and priceless from us. Our lives will never be the same.”
Source: Boston.com, “Ex-officer gets 5 years in prison for fatal crash,” Dave Collins, Aug. 27, 2012.
Learn more about DUI crashes by visiting our page on drunk driving accidents.
I just listened to a great discussion online about Parenting Plans. Specifically, it focused on the following:
Elements of a good Parenting Plan;
Parenting Plan ideas; and
Co-parenting through conflict.
The segment is about 35 minutes but well worth the time.
Here’s the link:
The notion is, when feasible, each parent should spend a significant amount participating in the child’s life experiences. Or, put another way, both parents should be involved in a meaningful way with the child. Each parent should participate in the child’s activities, social events, school related functions, educational pursuits, medical appointments and discipline.
This means being an active parent – not a visiting resource. This is why courts have adopted the terms “parenting time” and “parental access” and have moved away from using visitation. Visitation is the way a child spends time with a parent who is in jail.
Of course, there are circumstances where a parent will not (or maybe should not) be actively involved. For example, if there are issues concerning domestic violence, substance abuse and/or mental health. And, if the parents live a great distance apart, it is only logical that one parent be designated the primary residential parent.
Final thought. If parents can remember two things, just two things, conflict can be minimized and an effective Parenting Plan can be created:
1. Do not focus on the other parent’s behavior. Instead take responsibility for your own actions; and
2. It’s not what’s best for the parent but rather what’s best for the child. After all, it’s about the kids stupid!
Have you seen the proposal by the mayor of New Britain? He wants to fine students who skip class $75 per day.
As I understand it, if a student between the ages of 6 – 17 is found during school hours, unaccompanied by a parent or guardian, they would be issued an infraction.
The objective is to reduce school dropout rates and keep children “off the streets” thereby reducing the risk of engaging in delinquent behavior. Other cities have apparently passed similar legislation with positive results.
Of course, I support all children attending school. However, there are few issues with this proposal:
Police forces in most municpalities are already leanly staffed. Will they designate truant officers to enforce the mandate or will enforcement fall on officers on patrol? The law is only as good as the enforcement.
If the child contests the infraction, they would presumably appear in court. Most Juvenile Courts have already seen a steady increase in the volume of cases which they handle since the age for juvenile offender treatment was raised. Therefore, I am not sure the Juvenile Court system would be able to timely adjudicate these cases. Or these cases may simply be given low priority. The law is only as good as the enforcement.
Here’s an article on the topic: New Britain Schools Want To Curb Habitual Truancy – Hartford Courant
Child support in Connecticut is determined by the Child Support Guidelines. The relevant numbers are plugged into a child support worksheet. Then, depending on the number of minor children, a child support number is derived. This number is presumed to be correct. As a result, child support can be determined rather easily in most cases. There are, however, limited circumstances in which the child support awarded can be adjusted, up or down, if specified “deviation criteria” are met.
On to alimony.
For starters, not all divorce cases involve the payment of alimony. Child support is almost ordered since it is desgined to benefit the child.
When alimony is ordered, there are no worksheets. And there is no precise formula in calculating the amount.
Instead, the following factors are considered:
- The length of the marriage;
- The education, job skills and earning potential of the spouse seeking support;
- The income and debt of both spouses;
- Health and age of both parties;
- Standard of living during the marriage;
- Valuation of marital assets in the property settlement;
- Future value of financial assets awarded in the property settlement;
- Role and expectations of the spouses during the marriage;
- Causes for the divorce (fault);
- If children are involved, the desirability of the custodial parent securing employment.
A few thoughts.
Alimony represents the financial needs of either spouse in dollars. As such, alimony is gender neutral. Long gone are the days where alimony is only awarded to women.
Compared to child support there is much less certainty in the amount of alimony a judge may award. However, experienced lawyers can offer a range of what to expect.
Divorce judges are afforded much discretion in entering alimony orders. Therefore, negotiating an appropriate amount is often the preferred approach rather having a judge decide financial orders at trial.
A spouse who is paying alimony is typically ordered to obtain or maintain life insurance for as long as he or she has an obligation to pay alimony. The spouse who is receiving alimony is named as the beneficiary on the policy.
Connecticut has seen its fair share of ATV accidents in the last few months. Two Connecticut teens were seriously injured and another killed in two separate July accidents. None of the teens was wearing a helmet or protective padding at the time of the ATV crashes.
ATVs continue to rise in popularity, and as they do, more and more people put themselves at risk. In fact, the number of fatal ATV accidents involving children has increased by a whopping 88 percent in the last decade.
According to the Consumer Protection Safety Commission, riding an ATV is even more dangerous than playing football, a sport that many parents equate with the word “dangerous.”
Safety tips: ATVs
So what can you do to prevent an ATV accident and injuries? First and foremost, wear protective gear. This includes a helmet, goggles, long-sleeved clothing and gloves. In order to avoid accidents with other vehicles, ride on trails, not paved roads. Stay off the highways unless you need to cross them and only then do so carefully. Make sure your ATV can carry the number of people you have on it and that it is big enough (or small enough) for your age and body type.
One of the main causes of ATV accidents is DUI / driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Just like other motorized vehicles, driving an ATV under the influence is illegal and very dangerous. Do not drive if you have had too much to drink.
If you are injured
More than two million people have gone to the ER after an ATV accident in the last three decades. If you or a loved one is part of this statistic, you may be able to recover compensation from a negligent driver or your own insurance company through a personal injury lawsuit.
Source: Ridgefield Patch, “Teen ATV Accidents Involving Serious Injury and Death,” Opinion, Richard Hastings, Aug. 17, 2012.