
See What Our Clients
Are Saying About Us
I recommend the Law Office of James Dodson. They were always able and available
James is a first class attorney who, with his powerful demeanor and knowledge of the law, maximized a fair settlement for me.
Diminished Value to Your Car After an Accident
Common Myths About Auto Accident Cases
Considerations for Consumers When Rejecting Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage
Why You Must Not Allow Your Shrubbery to Grow into A Public Right-Of-Way
Liability of Adult Caretakers for Failure to Place Child in Car Safety Seat
Dog Bite Injuries Suffered by Children
Dog Bite Injuries, Finding Insurance Coverage
Falls in a Food or Grocery Store
Cracked, Broken or Irregular Sidewalks Causing a Fall
Defective Sidewalk Handicapped Ramp Causing a Fall
Florida Pedestrian Accident Attorney, Tampa & Clearwater Injury Lawyer
Tampa & Clearwater Bicycle Accident Attorney : Florida Bike Accident Lawyer
Protegiendo a los Niños en las Piscinas
¿Que Dice Las Reglas en La Florida Sobre Pasar Los Autobuses Escolares?
Failure to Recall Prior Physical Complaints and Treatments... Does It Mean Dismissal of Your Case?
Is There a Defense Strategy on Motions to Dismiss for Fraud?
Surveillance - Should It Concern You?
Insider Secrets as to How Insurance Companies Work to Limit the Amount They Payout in Claims
Injured in Clearwater, St. Petersburg, or Tampa, but live out of State?
Should You Settle Your Injury Claim Without a Lawyer
The Danger to Your Case When Your Lawyers Send You to “Their” Doctor
A Florida District Court of Appeal recently ruled that a child under age 5 makes you a caretaker for the failure to use an approved child car seat. At the time of the accident, the child was 11 months old. His grandmother placed him in a child booster seat. Their car crashed and the child was thrown from the seat suffering devastating injuries. He was not an unapproved child passenger restraint, in this case an infant safety seat. Booster seats are not approved for young children.
The child's guardian successfully sued the grandmother on the child's behalf, alleging a breach of a common-law duty of reasonable care for the child. A common-law duty is based on general principles of law found in court cases, as opposed to a specific statute imposing a duty of care. What made the case noteworthy is the decision of the court that the grandmother/caretaker could not rely on a defense thought to exist as found in s. 316.613 Fla. Stat. (1999).
The court determined that the intent of the statute was to prevent a third-party defendant, for example, from defending their own negligence in causing an accident, by claiming the injuries suffered by a child would have been prevented or reduced if the parents had used an approved child safety seat. That defense could not be used by the caretaker who caused the child's injury, in this case, by failing to use an approved child safety seat. What makes this case more troubling, was the allegation that an approved infant seat had been available, but was simply not used by the grandmother.
Parents must be extremely vigilant when young children are entrusted into the care of friends and relatives. Parents should never assume that the caretaker understands the importance of how to place a child into a car seat, where to place a seat within the car, or how to secure the seatbelt to maximize the child's safety. All too often, well meaning friends and relatives simply do not use the same level of care toward young children and parents might assume they would receive.
Law Office of James W. Dodson, P. A.
1259 Myrtle Avenue South
Clearwater, FL 33756
Phone: (727) 446-0840
Fax: (727) 446-0850
Attorney Jim Dodson discusses why he wrote Five Mistakes That Can Ruin Your Auto Accident Case
Attorney Jim Dodson discusses the Diminished Value Claim
What if you are injured in a motor vehicle accident while on the job in Florida?
James Dodson discusses his book Buying Car Insurance