Caveat – Any of the Court of Appeals cases listed may currently be on review pending reconsideration.

Dinsmoor v. City of Phoenix and Deer Valley USD 1 CA-CV 19-0045 (6/30/20)

A high school student shot and killed his classmate and then himself off campus. The classmate had previously reported threats to the school safety officer. These threats were made against another classmate. The school district contacted the parent of the other classmate, but did not contact the parents of the shooter or the one he killed. The Arizona Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s granting summary judgment in favor of the city of Phoenix, finding no duty. The Court of Appeals reversed summary judgment against the school district, finding that the district clearly owed a duty, and that the duty does not end at the edge of the campus. The Court of Appeals reversed summary judgment against the officer, finding sufficient factual basis that a jury could find that the officer was acting as an agent of the district.

Dinsmoor v City of Phoenix and Deer Valley USD

The post Appellate Highlights first appeared on Arizona Child Injury Attorney.

In Arizona, prior to May 2019, the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse was generally limited to two years from the child’s 18th birthday. In other words, an abused minor had until the age of 20 to file a lawsuit against the sexual predator or organization that employed or enabled the sexual predator.

Because many victims of child sexual abuse are not only traumatized physically but emotionally, these lawsuits often do not get filed within the first two years of adulthood. So, many victims lost out on the opportunity to obtain justice or to hold the abuser accountable.

This changed in May of 2019. ARS 12-514 allows a victim “twelve years after reaching eighteen years of age” to file a lawsuit, i.e., until their 30th birthday.

In addition, Arizona Governor Ducey signed into law a provision that also enables people OLDER than 30 years to file a lawsuit for their childhood sexual abuse. HOWEVER, THE TIME WINDOW FOR SUCH A LAWSUIT IS ONLY THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2020!

Basically, the Arizona Legislature recognized that there are many victims who are now more than 30-years old who may have cases against their abusers or the enabling organizations which ignored, and in some cases hid, the abuse. So, Arizona has briefly re-opened the courthouse doors for these victims to file lawsuits and seek justice. However, as mentioned above, this is set to expire on December 31, 2020. If you were a victim of sexual abuse as a child and are over 30-years old, please contact our office (480) 874-2918 as soon as possible to ensure that your rights can be protected before the December 31, 2020 deadline.

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The post Arizona’s New Law – Childhood Sexual Abuse first appeared on Arizona Child Injury Attorney.

Soliciting sex to minors in Arizona is a heinous crime, punishable by up to 24 years behind bars. Yet, a conviction may result in a light sentence of three months, far below the maximum penalties.

The report highlights Arizona as being considerably less harsh on individuals soliciting sex from children compared to the national average. The average amount of time an offender is jailed in Phoenix is 90 days – areas like D.C. & Baltimore mandate 180 days.

Somewhat contradicting the findings, the study also indicates the average time served in Phoenix is significantly higher than the rest of the country. Phoenix convictions mandate 4.7 years as compared to 1.3 in areas like D.C. & Baltimore. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Portland & Seattle mandate 86.3 days spent in jail for convicted offenders.

Although no individuals studied were convicted of sex-trafficking, the study suggests there is judicial leniency regarding the very crime fueling its market. Representatives behind the Shared Hope International group suggest these offenders are not facing the full letter of the law.

The research was the first of its kind – focusing solely on criminal outcomes for the demand regarding sex trafficking. Researchers compiled figures pulled from “johns” arrested for soliciting sex and undercover cops involved in sting operations.

Some critics suggest the research is flawed, statistics pulled from an extremely limited sample size – many individuals involved in the study did not actually sexually abuse a minor. Policy makers report they’re open to a dialogue founded on sufficient data that more accurately reflects the trend.

Original story reported by AZ Central.

The post Study Suggests Arizona More Lenient on Potential Sex Offenders first appeared on Arizona Child Injury Attorney.

What happens when the ones we are supposed to be able to trust to keep us safe end up being the ones that hurt us?

Such a situation happened a year ago, when a Mesa police officer was placed on administrative leave after it was reported that he sexually assaulted 2 women and molested a child who were under his watch. According to authorities, the assaults took place during searches while the individuals were detained.

During the year since his administrative leave, investigators have been looking into his case and gathering evidence. A grand jury indicted him for the charges just this past Thursday.

He turned himself in to Mesa police and was taken into custody. According to County Attorney Bill Montgomery, “the alleged conduct of this defendant is not representative of the high degree of professionalism and integrity with which the Mesa Police Department carries out its duties.” Montgomery went on to talk about his office’s role in the prosecution of the police officer, saying they “will not hesitate to prosecute sworn peace officers when sufficient evidence exists to support charges of criminal conduct. Those we entrust with enforcing the law will be equally held to account when they violate it.”

Source: http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/mesa/2014/08/01/mesa-officer-indicted-sexual-assault-molestation-charges/13501041/

The post Mesa Officer Turns Self In for Assault and Molestation Charges first appeared on Arizona Child Injury Attorney.

According to the study, published by the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, when ACL surgery is necessary, it is crucial to avoid delays. Obviously knee surgery on any child should be avoided if possible, but there are many cases where the surgery is needed. One of the biggest things they found in the study is that there is an increased risk of lateral meniscal tears in patients who had surgery delayed or cancelled.

Unfortunately, knee surgery can be immensely expensive, so what this means for parents whose children were injured by faulty or defective products, is that the quicker they can pursue legal action against the guilty parties, the sooner they will be able to get their children back to 100%.

The last thing any parent wants is to cause their children long-term harm, and as mentioned in the study, putting off the surgical treatment of an ACL tear highly increases the risk of additional knee impairment later in life.

If a person or entity is responsible for your child’s knee injury, it is advisable to take all necessary legal steps quickly.

Source: http://www.techtimes.com/articles/10312/20140712/acl-surgery-done-soon-injury-delay-can-meanfurther-tears.htm

The post Child With an ACL Tear? Take Quick Action first appeared on Arizona Child Injury Attorney.

Premises liability basically means that you are responsible for injuries occurring to guests on your property if the improperly maintained or dangerous property itself is what hurts them. For example, if you have a paved sidewalk and there’s a raised lip in one of the seams, you could be responsible for injuries if a child tripped on that edge.

Icy walkways, falling objects, bad lighting, holes, uneven pavement, standing water, unsafe furniture, etc.

Just such an event happened recently when 8 children were injured by a falling tree branch outside of a church in Los Angeles. None of them were critically injured, but according to witnesses, the children were merely playing underneath the tree when the branch gave way and fell on them.

Four children were taken to nearby hospitals, but only one suffered injuries serious enough to warrant transport by paramedic.

Any more information about the condition of the children is unknown at this time, but this whole event goes to show that it is incredibly important to be extra vigilant about the maintenance of all commonly-used spaces. Injuries sustained from something like a falling tree branch could easily be life-threatening or fatal to a child.

Source: http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2014/06/15/4-children-suffer-minor-injuries-from-fallen-tree-branch-outside-church/

The post Falling Branch Outside Church Injures 8 Children first appeared on Arizona Child Injury Attorney.

Unfortunately as has been seen on several recent news stories, they can be very dangerous under certain circumstances. While a properly-grounded bounce house is fairly hard to seriously injure oneself on, one that is not rooted strongly enough can be picked up by a strong gust and launched into the air.

Such a thing happened just last month when 2 young boys were inside a bounce house that got blown up into the air, and they ended up falling from about 15 feet high. Luckily both boys suffered only minor injuries, but if the gust were strong enough, it could have been 40 feet high instead.

The truth behind bounce houses is even a little darker than that would suggest, as well. According to emergency room reports, bounce house injuries are very common, and are actually getting increasingly frequent.

Safety experts have been performing studies on bounce houses, and have found that the rate of injuries has increased by 1500% when comparing 2010’s data with 1995’s.

The reason these injuries are becoming more frequent is that not only are bounce houses more popular than they used to be, but they are often DIY kits sold at toy stores, and parents are simply not anchoring them properly.

Over 11,000 children are injured every year in bounce houses in the US alone. 20 states have adopted mandatory operation requirements regarding how deeply mounting stakes must be driven and how many attendants there must be at all times.

It is only a matter of time before the other 30 states adopt similar regulations.

The post Bounce House Injuries Becoming Increasingly Common first appeared on Arizona Child Injury Attorney.

They are often called the formative years because of their importance in the future well-being of an individual. That is why it is of crucial importance that a child feel completely protected throughout the entire time.

In this case, a school bus filled with children got in an accident, causing 3 individuals to be sent to the hospital with serious injuries. The accident happened at roughly 3:30 in the afternoon on the US 60 near milepost 99.

According to a spokesman for the Wickenburg Unified School District, the accident happened when a car driver fell asleep at the wheel and swerved into the path of the bus, causing the driver to take evasive action which unfortunately led to the bus rolling 4 times.

Three students were injured, one being airlifted to a nearby hospital and the other 2 being taken by ambulance. According to the spokesman, at the time of the accident, none of the students’ injuries appeared to be life-threatening, although no further details have been released.

In addition, the driver of the vehicle was apparently trapped by the accident, but no further details were released about them either.

Source: http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/surprise/2014/05/22/injuries-reported-school-bus-crash-near-wickenburg-abrk/9461309/

The post 3 Students Injured Seriously in Bus Crash Near Wickenburg first appeared on Arizona Child Injury Attorney.

That makes it all the more horrific when a sporting event ends in disaster, as it recently did for one young Atlanta Braves fan.

The boy in question was in the stands behind first-base with his father when a foul ball was drilled directly into the stands, hitting him in the head before anyone was able to react. The impact was so drastic that the noise was audible to both pitcher Julio Teheran and Milwaukee leadoff hitter Carlos Gomez.

As anyone who has been in a baseball stadium can attest, only the loudest noises can rise above the background roar of the crowd.

Medical personnel were quick to respond, and they said that as they were treating him in the stadium, he was both conscious and talkative. They still transferred him to a hospital as soon as possible, however, to make absolutely sure that he was OK.

No further details have been released, but the Braves released a statement saying that the young boy was in their thoughts and prayers.

Braves pitcher Teheran, who was visibly shaken by the event, stated that it was scary for him, saying “I knew it hit somebody. It was a fast and hard. No one had a chance to get out of the way.” He also wished the best for the child, saying “if anyone knows him, please let him know I hope he’s fine.”

The post Braves Pitcher Hears Child Get Struck in Head by Foul Ball first appeared on Arizona Child Injury Attorney.

The woman in question had been visiting with friends until late at night, and ended up driving home under the influence of marijuana. The car seat, which had been resting on top of the vehicle, rolled off and ended up sitting in the middle of the intersection.

A passing couple saw the child seat with the crying baby inside, and called the police. The woman was apprehended at the scene of the crime when she came back, after making it all the way home and realizing her child wasn’t with her. The child was found to be uninjured, after being examined by medical professionals.

The woman pleaded guilty to misdemeanor DUI and child abuse back in February, and was just sentenced to 3 months deferred jail time and 16 years of supervised probation.

The deferred jail time only comes into effect if she fails to fulfill her probation sentence.

The post 16 Years Probation for Mother Who Left Baby on Roof of Car first appeared on Arizona Child Injury Attorney.