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A boy who sustained serious and lasting damage to his knee as a result of deep lacerations caused by shards of broken glass at a public park is entitled to the $425,000 damage award granted by a trial jury, an appellate court ruled recently.

The fact the child was not supervised by his mother at the park at the time of the injury did not diminish the responsibility of government workers to clean up the mess, which witnesses testified had been present for upwards of six weeks.

The defendant city in Myers v. City of West Plains argued trial court’s decision to specifically instruct jurors not to consider the fact that the boy’s mother wasn’t present was improper, something the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Southern District rejected. The appellate court backed the trial court’s decision to give the instruction, reasoning the lack of supervision was not a significant contributing factor in the boy’s injury, but such information might have unfairly prejudiced plaintiffs had the instruction not been given.

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The law treats children differently in many respects.

In criminal courts, for example, juvenile courts aim for rehabilitation rather than punishment.

In civil court, children are often granted exceptions in terms of their understanding of danger and liability. One example of this is seen in the doctrine of attractive nuisance. The principle holds it is the property owner’s responsibility to protect children from on-site hazards that may be present and which might be attractive to children and yet inherently dangerous. The theory holds children are naturally curious and not yet fully developed enough to recognize certain dangers and protect themselves in the same way we might expect adults to do.

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People who are injured as a result of a defective vehicle (or vehicle part) may have grounds on which to assert a successful product liability claim.

This has become an increasingly common plaintiff strategy in recent years, in large part because so many auto manufacturers have been shown to make, market and sell dangerous cars or defective parts. In some cases, motor vehicle industry executives know about the danger their products pose as sold, but do nothing to warn the public of those perils until regulators force their hand.

Most recently, we’ve seen this with the faulty Takata airbags, the dangerous GM ignition switches and Toyota’s rapid and uncontrolled acceleration issues. Each of these problems has led to a host of lawsuits, many of which are still pending.

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Florida may not have snow or mountains, but vacationers here likely have one thing in common with plaintiffs in an Oregon case alleging staff negligence while snowboarding: Liability waivers.

There are many opportunities for visitors (and locals) in South Florida to engage in fun activities, such as personal watercraft rentals, parasailing, horseback riding, boating, etc. But many companies do require participants to sign a release signing away their right to sue in the event they are injured.

In many instances, courts will respect these signed waivers as a valid legal contract, so long as the signature belongs to someone over 18. However, there are circumstances under which a court may find such an agreement “unconscionable,” and therefore unenforceable – meaning injured party still retains the right to pursue litigation.

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When it comes to ladders, as with any tool, improper use, lack of adequate training or general bad practices can result in serious injuries. But so too can ladders that are poorly designed or manufactured.

The American Journal of Preventative Medicine reports hundreds of thousands of ladder-related injuries every year result in treatments by U.S. emergency departments. One in 10 of these required hospitalization, and 90 percent occurred at a home or farm.

Some of the most common injuries included:

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With the holiday season in full swing, stores across Florida are packed with patrons, scrambling to pick up those few last-minutes items. Store employees are often swamped, and when hazardous floor conditions become apparent, they have less time and fewer personnel to remedy the problem. These kinds of incidents give rise to an increasing number of slip-and-fall injuries in area stores.

Not every fall will generate a lawsuit, but particularly where injuries require hospitalization, it’s worth exploring.

Although pro-business lobbyists have done a good job spinning slip-and-fall lawsuits as a byproduct of greed, the reality is, a company that invites guests onto its property for the purpose of spending money owes a duty to keep those guests safe from unreasonable harm. This means promptly addressing spills, poor lighting, debris in the aisles and other dangerous conditions.

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As we near the greatest gift-giving season of the year, we do recognize toys can be of great benefit to children, helping them to develop, learn and explore. However, they are also a source of serious injury.

A new report published in the journal Clinical Pediatrics indicates the number of toy-related injuries among children has risen sharply in the last two decades. Today, a child is rushed to an emergency room every 3 minutes for treatment of a toy-related injury.

In fact, researchers for the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital found more than 3.2 million children were treated in U.S. emergency rooms for toy-related injuries from 1990 through 2011. More than half of these instances involved children under the age of 5.

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Florida is one of the top destinations sought by customers of Airbnb, VRBO and other home-sharing, short-term rental hubs – especially around the holidays, where people are seeking a warm respite from the northern cold.

But when injuries occur on these properties as a result of dangerous conditions, the issue of liability can be complex.

Generally, traditional hotels and properties overseen by rental management firms are covered under commercial liability insurance policies that provide for coverage if someone is killed or seriously injured on site. Additionally, private homeowners often carry their own insurance policies to cover injuries suffered by social guests. However, when a private homeowner is renting out a property for commercial gain, injuries sustained by commercial guests may not be covered under a homeowners’ private policy.

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Increasingly, companies and service providers require consumers to sign liability waivers, effectively agreeing to sign away their right to seek recompense should injury result from the activity or service.

In large part, courts have upheld the viability of these documents, considered formal legal contracts. This is why people must be extremely wary in signing these waivers.

However, this does not mean the existence of a waiver completely extinguishes a person’s ability to pursue civil litigation. To start, no waiver protects an entity from liability for an intentional tort or acts of gross negligence. Beyond that, the Florida Supreme Court has held such agreements are only enforceable when intent is “clearly and unequivocally stated.” (University Plaza Shopping Center v. Stewart, Fla. 1973). When the language is over-broad, plaintiff may have grounds to assert the specific dangers of the underlying activity were not apparent or disclosed.

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