From Our Law Firm: Preventing Hot Car Deaths This Summer

Keep your family safe with our advice on keeping small children out of locked cars this summer.

Sadly, every summer seems to bring with it a few of these disturbing news stories. A young child becomes trapped in a hot car, either because the parent or guardian was unaware or forgot the young one was there. It takes mere minutes for heat stroke to set in, causing serious illness, or tragically, even death. Law firms like Tolbert Beadle handle these cases more often than they would like, so pay special attention to this potentially lifesaving information.

No Amount of Time is Safe: Advice From a Personal Injury Law Firm

It doesn’t take long for temperatures inside a car to reach harmful levels, so it is never, under any circumstances, ok to leave a child there. Even if it’s just 72 degrees outside, it only takes 30 minutes for the temperature in the car to become dangerous. Of course, the stifling heat of a Missouri summer is far more intense than that. Signs of heat stroke can include disorientation, dizziness, seizure, loss of consciousness, and ultimately death. Even if you think you’ll only be inside for a moment, your friends at the law firm of Tolbert Beadle encourage you to never leave a child in the car unattended.

Prevention Tips From the Law Firm of Tolbert Beadle

Children are curious and love to explore. Don’t let them mistake your vehicle for a place to play. Keep the doors, windows and trunk locked at all times, and be sure to always keep the keys out of reach. In many of the cases law firms evaluate, the parent wasn’t even aware the child had entered the car. Follow these tips to avoid a potentially dangerous situation.
No one is immune to the unexpected, and our hectic family and work schedules can have us hurriedly rushing from one place to the next. Departures from our regular routine can cause an understandable degree of forgetfulness as well. If you find yourself having to unexpectedly drop your child off at school or daycare before going to the office, consider these helpful pointers.
Leave the diaper bag next to you in the front seat as a visual reminder. You could also leave your briefcase next to your child’s car seat, that way you will see him or her before heading to your desk for the day. Engaging your child in conversation or playing his or her favorite music on the way could help remind you to drop the child off first, too. Law firms know the difference between negligence and an honest mistake, and hopefully you find these tips helpful.
Any death from a hot car is one too many. Join the law firm of Tolbert Beadle and let’s put a stop to these senseless, easily preventable tragedies.