UPCOMING LOCAL COMMUNITY EVENTS
July 4, 2009 2:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Independence Day Channelside
615 Channelside Drive
Tampa, FL 33602
Face painting, balloon artists and fireworks
July 4, 2009 10:00 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Gulfport 4th of July Celebration
Activities occuring at Beach Blvd. Gulfport Beach
and Casino Ballroom
Car show, sandcastle contest, food, activities, vendors,
live music and fireworks
July 4, 2009 All Day
Treasure Island King Gator's 4th of July Spectacular
12795 Kingfish Drive
Treasure Island, FL 33706
Live music, food and fireworks
July 4, 2009 4:00pm to 10:00pm
Clearwater Celebrates America
Coachman Park
301 Drew Street
Clearwater, FL 33756
Live jazz and orchestral music
July 4, 2009 9:00 p.m.
St. Pete Fireworks by the Pier
St. Pete Pier
800 Second Avenue N.E.
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
Mention this ad at International House of Pancakes, located at 802 S. Dale Mabry Highway, Tampa, FL 33609 and receive 10% off your next visit.
SWIMMING POOL SAFETY
With the warm weather of summer Floridians quickly flock to their pools to cool off. Unfortunately, the increase in pool use also means an increase in swimming pool accidents. Most of these accidents involve young children that have the confidence to brave the water alone but lack the skills to save themselves when things go wrong. In fact over 300 children under the age of five die each year from drowning in a swimming pool and over 2,000 children under five visit the hospital with pool-related injuries.
As reported by 10Connects.com, on June 11, 2009 a 1 year old child climbed out of his crib, walked to the bathroom and exited a door leading to the pool. His Grandfather found him floating in the pool. The child was pronounced dead at the hospital. Although the pool was screened in, it did not have a safety gate around it. It is unclear from the article if the bathroom door was locked.
In the state of Florida, pool owners can be held responsible for pool related deaths and injuries when they fail to secure pools that are not in use and or fail to properly supervise pool goers. A duty to secure the pool when not in use stems from local government ordinances that require pool owners to keep pools fenced, covered, and or alarmed. These safety features are meant to prevent young children from wandering into the pool when no adult is around to supervise. A duty to supervise includes such things as knowing the skill level of the swimmers, keeping a watchful eye on them when they are in or near the pool, and enforcing no running and no diving rules. Other safety precautions may include making sure:
- Fences and gates surround all four sides of the pool. Fences are no less than four feet high and that the latch on the gate is higher than the child’s reach.
- Door alarms produce a loud and audible sound throughout the house when the door is opened.
- Rescue equipment such as life preservers and a phone are nearby the pool.
- All toys are removed from the pool after use so children aren’t tempted to get in.
The family pool should be a place for fun and not a place for injury. Following the above safety tips can help make sure this happens.
BLOG
Distasio Law Firm publishes a blog article on the internet 2 to 3 times per month. Our Blogs can be found at: http://www.tampainjurylawblog.com/. To subscribe to our Blog, go to our website: http://www.DistasioLawFirm.com, go to the website home page; scroll down the right hand side to the subscribe section; click on the news feed that is most compatible with your computer; and follow the news feed directions. Blog articles will then be sent directly to your computer as they are published.
Below is the highlighted Blog for this month.
Tampa Car Accident Attorney Discusses Seat Belt Law
According to an article posted on TBO.com, the Florida Highway Patrol recently held a news conference on car accidents and seat belt safety. The conference comes on the heels of a new law in Florida that allows law enforcement to pull people over and ticket them for not wearing their seat belt. Prior to the law change, law enforcement could only ticket someone not wearing their seatbelt in an automobile if the car had been pulled over for another reason.
As a Tampa car accident attorney, I always consider whether a client was wearing their seatbelt when deciding whether a settlement offer appears reasonable. The reason is that the Florida Safety Belt Law described above also allows a jury to consider the failure to wear a seat belt as evidence of comparative negligence of the injured person in an auto accident personal injury lawsuit. This means the amount of money awarded to a person that was not wearing a seat belt is reduced by the percentage of responsibility the jury decides to assign to that person for not wearing the seat belt..
THE FIRM
Distasio Law Firm is a Tampa based personal injury law firm that handles cases throughout the state of Florida. We welcome referrals from clients, family and friends of clients and from other lawyers. We handle most types of personal injury cases including auto accidents, slip and falls, medication errors, product liability, nursing home abuse, and medical malpractice.