Child Safety Seats Save Lives

A two-year-old Pulaski, Tennessee boy is in Vanderbilt Hospital in critical condition and his mother in jail after a single car accident on Fall River Road this past Sunday night.

According to local media reports, the boy suffered head injuries when his mother lost control of her car in a curve, overturned and hit a tree.

Both mother and child were properly restrained and according to the report, investigators said that “probably saved their lives.” The mother was arrested and charged with DUI and vehicular assault. Speed and drunkenness were the probable causes of the crash.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death to children ages 2 to 14 and the leading cause of injury-related death for children under 2. When installed and used correctly, child safety seats and safety belts can prevent injuries and save lives. Young children restrained in child safety seats have an 80 percent lower risk of fatal injury than those who are unrestrained.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee highway automobile accident contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident law firm of Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to determine your rights and remedies

Another Fatherless Child

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident lawyer, it breaks my heart to see any crash in which a baby is injured because it is not properly secured in a child safety seat and the parent was driving drunk. Reference a crash late last week in which a 30-year-old father died and his two-year-old son was injured when their vehicle failed to negotiate a curve.

The crash occurred in Jefferson County, Tennessee, and from my experience, it appears that it was caused by the alcohol, speed and/or distraction. Neither the deceased driver or the passenger were wearing their seat belts and the child was in a safety seat but it was improperly secured.

Alcohol was a factor in 10,839 highway deaths in 2009. In the past two decades, it accounted for 268,442 deaths. And 10 percent of people in the United States recently admitted to being drunk behind the wheel in the past year, a poll found. Drunk driving is one of America’s deadliest crimes. In Tennessee in 2008, 327 people were killed in crashes where the driver or motorcyclist had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher.

If you are the victim of a Nashville or Tennessee automobile accident we urge you to contact our car accident attorneys today for a free consultation. When you hire an auto accident attorney from Phillip Miller & Associates, you’re getting a qualified and dedicated lawyer. Details about our attorneys and staff can be found by viewing our website at www.seriousinjury.com where you can get to know the men and women who will be looking out for your best interest.

Secure Your Child

A 6-year-old boy died from injuries he received when a tractor-trailer ran his mother off I-40 and caused her to flip. Unfortunately the mother failed to make sure that her child was properly buckled into his child safety seat. He was ejected and killed in the rollover.

Child safety seats reduce fatal injury by 71 percent for infants (less than 1 year old) and by 54 percent for toddlers (1 to 4 years old) in passenger cars. Young children restrained in child safety seats have an 80 percent lower risk of fatal injury than those who are unrestrained.

Tennessee was the first state in the country to pass a Child Passenger Protection Law requiring children to be restrained in child safety seats (car seats and booster seats).

A.  A child under one year old, or any child weighing less than 20 pounds, must be in a child passenger restraint system (car seat) that is facing the rear of the car.

B. Children who are one through three years old, and who weigh more than 20 pounds, must be in a child passenger restraint system that is facing forward.

C. Children who are four through eight years old and whose height is under four feet, nine inches, must be in a belt positioning booster seat system (child booster car seat) and wearing a seatbelt.

These seats should be in the rear seat of the car, if possible. The children can’t make the decision to protect themselves, this is the legal responsibility of the parents. It is also the responsibility of the parents to teach by example.  If you are driving and witness a parent driving without having their child properly restrained it is your duty to notify the authorities. Call 911 is you are in an urban area and *847 in a rural area. Make the call and save a child’s life.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee highway automobile accident contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident law firm of Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to determine your rights and remedies

Secure Your Children

A Louisville man is facing a murder charge stemming from a traffic crash last week that killed his 2-year-old daughter. The 22-year-old father lost control of his Cadillac Escalade that then overturned along Interstate 65. Police told local media sources that the man was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the wreck.

Police also told local media that his young daughter was ejected from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene. As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney, an ejected child tells me that the child was not properly secured in a child safety seat.

The man was arrested on charges of murder, driving under the influence, operating a vehicle without a license, failure to have insurance and failure to use a child restraint in a vehicle.

Child safety seats reduce fatal injury by 71 percent for infants (less than 1 year old) and by 54 percent for toddlers (1 to 4 years old) in passenger cars. Young children restrained in child safety seats have an 80 percent lower risk of fatal injury than those who are unrestrained.

Tennessee was the first state in the country to pass a Child Passenger Protection Law requiring children to be restrained in child safety seats (car seats and booster seats).

A.  A child under one year old, or any child weighing less than 20 pounds, must be in a child passenger restraint system (car seat) that is facing the rear of the car.

B. Children who are one through three years old, and who weigh more than 20 pounds, must be in a child passenger restraint system that is facing forward.

C. Children who are four through eight years old and whose height is under four feet, nine inches, must be in a belt positioning booster seat system (child booster car seat) and wearing a seatbelt.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee highway automobile accident contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident law firm of Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to determine your rights and remedies.

Secure It Correctly

A 6-year-old child died Thursday from injuries sustained in a car crash Wednesday on State Highway 62 in Morgan County Tennessee.

According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, the child was a passenger in a 1999 Ford Explorer driven by a 40-year-old woman who was following a slow line of traffic going east on the road, when it stopped suddenly. The woman braked and veered across the centerline, going into oncoming traffic, where her vehicle was struck, head-on, by a dump truck. Police are not sure whether the child’s safety seat was being used properly.

As an experienced Nashville auto accident lawyer, my first thought is that the driver wasn’t paying attention and was somehow distracted from the traffic ahead of her and this was the cause of the accident. I don’t have sufficient information to determine whether the child safety seat was being used properly, but under most circumstances, if used properly, child safety seats save lives if they are used.

Child safety seats reduce fatal injury by 71 percent for infants (less than 1 year old) and by 54 percent for toddlers (1 to 4 years old) in passenger cars. Young children restrained in child safety seats have an 80 percent lower risk of fatal injury than those who are unrestrained.

Tennessee was the first state in the country to pass a Child Passenger Protection Law requiring children to be restrained in child safety seats (car seats and booster seats).

A.  A child under one year old, or any child weighing less than 20 pounds, must be in a child passenger restraint system (car seat) that is facing the rear of the car.

B. Children who are one through three years old, and who weigh more than 20 pounds, must be in a child passenger restraint system that is facing forward.

C. Children who are four through eight years old and whose height is under four feet, nine inches, must be in a belt positioning booster seat system (child booster car seat) and wearing a seatbelt.

These seats should be in the rear seat of the car, if possible. The children can’t make the decision to protect themselves, this is the legal responsibility of the parents. It is also the responsibility of the parents to teach by example.  If you are driving and witness a parent driving without having their child properly restrained it is your duty to notify the authorities. Call 911 is you are in an urban area and *847 in a rural area. Make the call and save a child’s life.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee highway automobile accident contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident law firm of Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to determine your rights and remedies

Distracted Driver

We will probably never know what caused a Grandview man to lose concentration and cross the centerline as he rounded a curve and slam head-on into an oncoming car. We will also never know why he decided to drive without securing his seat belt, had he done so he most probably wouldn’t have been ejected and killed.

Local media reports failed to mention whether the one-year-old child he was transporting in the backseat of his vehicle was properly secured in a child safety seat, but since she survived we can safely presume that was the case. The child was injured, as was the other driver, but they were treated and released. My prayers go out to the family and friends of the deceased.

Distracted driving and failure to wear seat belts has risen to epidemic proportions in Tennessee these last several years and there seems to be no let up in sight. Education and primary enforcement is the key to turning this epidemic around.

If you or a loved on is injured or killed in a Tennessee car crash contact the experienced Nashville auto accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation.

Fatal Tennessee Child Fatality

It may sound like a one time event when a wife jumps out of a tractor-trailer as it rolls down an interstate highway and gets run over by the trailer wheels. But, an Arkansas highway fatality involving a Tennessee married couple is the second such fatal accident, with these very same facts, that I have reported on this year.

According to local media reports a 45-year-old woman was riding with her husband when she opened the door of the truck’s cab and jumped out. Accident investigators are investigating the circumstances surrounding the why and the how of her death.

In another tragic Tennessee highway fatality a Chattanooga man is charged with vehicular homicide after his one-year-old baby son died of head injuries following a high speed loss of control accident. The child was not secured in a child safety seat when the speeding vehicle went out of control, flipped over and crashed into an embankment.

The use of safety belts, child restraint safety seats and child booster seats, is required by Tennessee law. They can help save you and your passengers’ lives in the event of a traffic crash.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile accident contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out about your rights and remedies.

The National Highway Safety Administration has announced National Child Passenger Safety Week during the period September 12-18, 2009

Securing our Most Precious Cargo is the theme of this special week to highlight child motor vehicle safety. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among children ages 2 to 14, due in large part to the nonuse or improper use of child seats and seat belts. Working with parents and our partners our goal is to ensure every child is properly secured and safe every trip, every time.

Parents – Not Sure Which Car Seat to Use?

Are you looking for a new car seat for your infant, toddler or 4-8 year old child but overwhelmed by the choices and worried about how to properly install your car seat? The following links in the 4 Steps for Kids campaign will help you properly choose and install the correct car seat for your child.To link to pages with specific information regarding children of all ages click on the following categories. For Babies, Toddlers, Kids (4-8), Age 8 and up.

Is your child safety seat properly installed?

Click HERE to find the child seat inspection station nearest you. Trained child seat inspectors will verify – free of charge – the installation of your child seat.

As an experienced Tennessee car accident lawyer my staff and I at Phillip Miller & Associates highly recommend that you take some time and visit the links in this blog and share the information with friends and family. Children truly are our most precious resource and a couple of minutes spent looking over this information might save lives.