Articles Posted in Injuries to Minors

A Gresham, Oregon man this month became the second consumer to file a product liability lawsuit against the makers of the Amby Baby Motion hammock, according to a recent report published in Insurance Journal. The August death of the man’s five month old son was the second fatality linked to the product by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The CPSC issued a recall of the Amby Baby Motion following the death of the Gresham man’s son, urging “parents to stop using Amby hammocks immediately,” according to the article. The Journal reports that, according to the CPSC, about 24,000 units of the product had been sold in the United States prior to the recall.

Defective products are a worry in all aspects of our lives, but when they injure or kill children their impact is particularly severe. These situations are tragic, and they are times when the advice and assistance of an Oregon child injury lawyer familiar with product liability issues can be invaluable. An experienced Portland or Gresham product liability attorney can help you obtain the compensation to which you are entitled to offset medical bills or funeral expenses, lost wages or salary you may have incurred in caring for an injured child and pain and suffering stemming from the accident.

The step-Grandmother of a 16-year-old Eugene girl who died after alleged torture and abuse by her mother and stepfather says she made repeated efforts to warn state child welfare officials of the situation, according to a recent article in The Oregonian. This tragic, and extreme, case of Oregon child injury reminds us all of the importance of accountability whenever the safety of children is in question.

Eugene teenager Jeanette Maples died last week after what court papers describe as “intentional maiming and torturing.” As criminal charges against her mother and stepfather moved forward, the head of Oregon’s Department of Human Services ordered an investigation of the conduct of the caseworkers involved with Maples and her family.

The charges from Maples’ step-grandmother emerged into the media shortly thereafter. Lynn McAnulty says she told child services officials on several occasions over the last few months that she was concerned for Jeanette’s welfare, fearing that the Oregon child’s injuries had been caused by other members of her family.

Lawyers acting on behalf of a brother and sister who were abused and starved while in foster care are suing Oregon’s Department of Human Services for $32 million. The Oregon child injury case is a reminder that civil as well as criminal legal remedies exist for Oregon child injuries.

An 8 year old girl and her 6 year old brother were removed from their biological mother’s care in 2002 because of drug use, according to an article in yesterday’s Oregonian. By 2004, however, the children (then aged 10 and 8) were being beaten regularly and starved by their foster parents in Clackamas County, a situation DHS failed to pick-up on despite several attempts by the children to alert case workers. Eventually the children had to be evacuated to a hospital – the girl with a broken skull.

The lawsuit filed on their behalf seeks $3.3 million in damages for the boy. The remainder is for the girl, who suffered brain damage and will need lifetime physical and mental care. Both children have since been adopted.

State officials are urging parents to take extra precautions to avoid Oregon child injuries this Halloween. The state Fire Marshall, Randy Simpson, told the Wilsonville Spokesman that “an increase in candle use, combined with decorations, costumes and children adds up to increased fire risk.” The paper noted that 125 Oregon fires causing over $2 million in damage have been recorded over the course of the last four Halloweens.

As much-anticipated as Halloween often is by children and adults alike, it can also be a dangerous holiday. Recommendations for safe trick-or-treating and avoiding Portland child injuries have been issued by the Oregon State Police in cooperation with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. These include having older children trick-or-treat as a group, making sure younger children are accompanied by an adult at all times and making sure that kids wearing masks can see and breathe properly.

Fire-prevention tips issued by Simpson’s office include purchasing only flame-resistant or flame-retardant costumes, avoiding costumes that drag behind the wearer on the ground (these are more likely to come into unintended contact with a lit jack-o-lantern) and not letting lights and other electrical decorations overload extension cords and electrical sockets.