A recently passed law requires all licensed day care centers in Miami-Dade County to install a child safety alarm that engages when the ignition is turned off in all vehicles used to transport children before December 1, 2012. The alarm requires a driver to check for forgotten children as he or she walks to the back of a vehicle in order to disable it. Although the new safety law became effective in February, it provided the 1,152 licensed day care operators in Miami-Dade County with a grace period to install the alarms before fines and other penalties are enforced.
The new law was passed in response to several negligence cases recently filed against day care operators in South Florida. In August 2011, Palm Beach County was the first county in the state to pass such an ordinance. That law was passed after two-year-old Haile Brockington died as a result of being forgotten inside of a hot day care van in Delray Beach for almost six hours.
Earlier this year, proposed legislation to require day care centers throughout Florida to install vehicle safety alarms was introduced by Senator Maria Sachs of Delray Beach. Although the measure passed the Florida Senate, it later failed in the House. Still, Sachs stated she would reintroduce the legislation in the future and ask each of the state’s nearly 17,000 licensed day care businesses to voluntarily install child safety alarms.
Many people are killed in unnecessary accidents every day in Florida. Although unexpectedly losing a child is always difficult, it can be especially devastating when your loss resulted from another person’s negligence. If you lost a child due to the negligent actions of a day care provider, you have may the right to file a wrongful death lawsuit. Generally, any fatality that is the result of an act of carelessness, recklessness, or negligence will give rise to a wrongful death claim. Obviously, no amount of money can bring back your child or make up for your loss. By filing a wrongful death claim, you have the ability to hold the person who is liable for your loss accountable for their actions and discourage similar conduct in the future.
If your child or other loved one was killed unexpectedly in Florida, contact the law firm of Lazarus & Lazarus, P.A. Our dedicated Weston wrongful death lawyers understand the pain and uncertainty that can accompany the loss of a relative. At Lazarus & Lazarus, we have experience helping individuals located throughout Florida recover fair damages for the death their loved ones. The attorneys at Lazarus & Lazarus help residents of Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Weston, and Broward, Dade, and Palm Beach Counties achieve the compensation they deserve following a personal injury or other loss. To speak with a hardworking wrongful death lawyer today, please do not hesitate to call the law firm of Lazarus & Lazarus at (954) 356-0006.
More Blogs:
11-Year-Old Electrocuted While Playing Miniature Golf in Kissimmee, Florida Personal Injury Attorney Blog, July 21, 2012
One Teen Killed, Another Injured in Redington Beach Boating Accident, Florida Personal Injury Attorney Blog, July 20, 2012
Additional Resources:
Day care van alarms now required to alert drivers to check for forgotten children, Palm Beach County, by Jennifer Sorentrue, Palm Beach Post
Miami-Dade County Passes Child Safety Alarm Law, PR Newswire
Photo credit: ctechs, Stock.xchng
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