Recently, in the morning hours in Charlotte, North Carolina, a car flipped over the median on Interstate 77 Northbound, near the John Belk ramp. The traumatic car crash involved three children and their mother. The kids were found to be ages 6, 3 and 1. Mecklenburg County police were attempting to understand exactly why they have only found 2 child seats in the car, a booster and a baby’s car seat.
According to the police,
the mother was too distraught to communicate clearly with them to get a
complete explanation on the lack of seats for all three children as
required by law. Investigators informed the local Eyewitness News team that the 3-year-old child involved in the wreck was brought to the hospital with a serious head injury. It appears the other two children and their mother were expected to be OK.
"We’re only going to the grocery store."
"He’ll stop crying if I hold him on my lap."
"She thinks she’s too old."
Do any of these statements sound familiar? They’re all very common reasons parents give for not putting their children in appropriate child safety seats or safety belts. Unfortunately,
unrestrained or improperly restrained children are far more likely to
be injured, to suffer more severe injuries, and to die in the event of
a crash.
Motor vehicle crashes are still the leading cause of unintentional injury-related death. In 2001, 1,579 child occupants ages 14 and under died in motor vehicle crashes, and in 2002 an estimated 227,000 were injured. It has been shown that even if you’re a careful driver, you can’t control other drivers’ behavior or eliminate the possibility of a crash. You can reduce the risk that your children will be seriously injured or killed. Every year close to 1,800 children ages 14 and under are killed as occupants in motor vehicle crashes, and more than 280,000 are seriously injured.
About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton
is a law firm which focuses on injury and accident law and we have
experience handling traumatic brain injury and general head injuries.
Check out our case results to see for yourself. Our primary office in based in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA). Our attorneys have handled numerous head injury and brain trauma cases, and achieved the largest verdict in Virginia’s
history for a brain damaged client in 2000. Our lawyers hold licenses
in NC, SC, WV, KY and DC. And we are ready to talk to you by phone
right now—we provide free initial confidential injury case
consultations, so call us toll free at 1-800-752-0042. Our injury attorneys also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube . Furthermore, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard and Norfolk Injuryboard as a pro bono public information service.
BM
Rick Shapiro has practiced personal injury law for over 30 years in Virginia, North Carolina, and throughout the Southeastern United States. He is a Board-Certified Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (ABA Accredited) and has litigated injury cases throughout the eastern United States, including wrongful death, trucking, faulty products, railroad, and medical negligence claims. During his three-decade career, Shapiro has won client appeals before the VA Supreme Court, VA Court of Appeals, NC Supreme Court, SC Supreme Court, WV Supreme Court, TN Supreme Court, and three times before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, underscoring Shapiro’s trial achievements. In addition, he and his law firm have won settlements/verdicts in excess of $100 million. His success in and out of the courtroom is a big reason why he was named 2019 “Lawyer of the Year” in railroad law in U.S. News & World Report's Best Lawyers publication (Norfolk, VA area), and he has been named a “Best Lawyer” and “Super Lawyer” by those peer-reviewed organizations for multiple years. Rick was also named a “Leader in the Law, Class of 2022” by Virginia Lawyers Weekly (total of 33 statewide honorees consisting of lawyers and judges across Virginia). And in September 2023, Rick was selected as a recipient of the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) 2023 President’s Award. Although many nominations were submitted from across the country, Rick was just one of eight attorneys chosen by the prestigious National Board which certifies civil trial attorneys across the U.S. Rick was also recently named to Virginia Lawyers Weekly 2024 Virginia’s Go To Lawyers Medical Malpractice. The attorneys awarded this honor are nominated by their colleagues and chosen by a panel from the publication.
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