Never Leave Children in a Car

Children and Heat Stroke

As summer temperatures peak across the country, it is important to be aware of children and heat stroke. According to the Manchester attorneys at the Law Office of Manning Zimmerman & Oliveira PLLC, it only takes a few minutes for a car to heat up and become deadly to children inside. Click here for a video on how quickly a car can heat up. While it seems unfathomable to many parents to forget a child inside a car, statistics show that since 1990 at least 717 children have died from heatstroke when left unattended or after gaining access to an unattended vehicle.

Kate Carr, president of Safe Kids Worldwide, said about 52 percent of heatstroke deaths in cars are the result of a caregiver forgetting that a child is in the car, 30 percent involve children who got into a car on their own, and 17 percent occur because a child is intentionally left in a car.

Risks and Consequences

These tragedies can happen anytime, anywhere and to anyone. Multitasking parents have their routines interrupted, forget something or reason the child is fine alone in the car, thinking “I’ll just run into the store for a minute.” SaferCar.gov offers these risks and consequences for parents to consider:

Risks

In 10 minutes, a car can heat up 20 degrees.
Cracking a window does little to keep the car cool.
With temperatures in the 60s, your car can heat up to well above 110 degrees.
A child’s body temperature can rise up to five times faster than an adult’s.
Heatstroke can happen when the temperature is as low as 57 degrees outside!
A child dies when his or her body temperature reaches 107.

Consequences

The heat-related death of a child
Misdemeanor charges with fines as high as $500 — and even imprisonment — in some states if convicted
Felony charges, depending on the state, if bodily harm results from leaving kids alone in a hot car
Note: Each state determines the age at which children can be left unattended in a vehicle, as does the duration of time a child can be left alone.

A-C-T to Prevent a Senseless Tragedy

Avoid heatstroke-related injury and death by never leaving your child alone in a car, not even for a minute. And make sure to keep your car locked when you’re not in it so kids don’t get in on their own.
Create reminders by putting something on the backseat next to your child. This could include a briefcase, a purse, or a cell phone, that is needed at your final destination. This is especially important if you’re not following your normal routine. Put a stuffed animal in the front passenger seat as an additional reminder.
Take action. If you see a child alone in a car, call 911. Emergency personnel trained to respond to these situations want you to call. You could save a life.

Contact Experienced Manchester Attorneys for a Free Consultation

If you have been injured by another person’s careless acts, contact the Manchester attorneys at the Law Office of Manning Zimmerman & Oliveira PLLC. We may be reached at 603-624-7200, by email at info@MZLawNH.com, or by using the “contact us” or chat feature on our website.

It is essential that you have competent legal representation from the onset of your case through litigation. Big insurance companies have lawyers looking out for their interests and you should too!

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