A 1-year-old died this week in St. Petersburg Florida after being left in the backseat of his father’s car, according to reporting from local news outlets.
The incident happened Wednesday after the father had taken the baby to an appointment and seemingly forgot to drop him off at daycare. St. Petersburg police told reporters. When the father returned to the daycare to collect his child, employees at the facility told him that the baby was absent that day.
The baby was later found in the backseat of the father’s car, where he had been all day, according to police.
Additional details, including whether any criminal charges would be filed, were not immediately available Friday.
Dangers of Leaving a Child in a Car
The temperature in St. Petersburg the day of the incident was 88 degrees, breaking an over six-decade-long record high. When it’s hot outside, a car can act as a greenhouse, trapping heat and preventing it from escaping. When the temperature outside is just 80 degrees, according to the Centers for Disease Control, it can reach about 109 degrees inside a car within just 20 minutes. And the temperature continues to rise as time goes on.
Babies and young children are especially vulnerable to heat-related injuries because of several factors including a limited ability to sweat to naturally cool down the body and a larger surface area compared to their body weight, which can lead to rapid overheating. Because it can be sweltering inside a car even on a relatively cool day, the CDC recommends never leaving a child inside a car even with the windows cracked and keeping children hydrated. Additionally, parents should dress their children for the weather, meaning sweaters and pants when it is cooler out and loose, short-sleeved clothing as the weather warms.
Leesfield & Partners
The loss of a child is any parent’s worst nightmare. In nearly five decades of personal injury practice, Leesfield & Partners has dedicated countless hours to advocating on behalf of injured children in Florida. This litigation has not only made a difference for injured children and their families but it has also brought about change with the aim of preventing the same tragedy from occurring.
One instance of this is a landmark case that resulted in industry-wide change within high chair production. In that case, Leesfield & Partners secured a confidential settlement for the family of a baby who “submarined” while in his highchair. There were no warnings associated with that product that alerted parents that the feeding tray was not to be used to restrain the baby and, if left unattended for even a minute, the child can slide against the tray and choke.
A $1.1 million settlement was reached thanks to attorneys at the firm in the tragic suffocation death of a 4-month-old baby involving a juvenile product.
In a case of a mental health facility’s negligence to watch over a minor meant to be under their watch, Leesfield & Partners secured a confidential settlement after the teen was able to slip under the facility’s notice and died by suicide.
An 11-year-old girl celebrating her birthday by playing mini-golf at a Florida resort died after being electrocuted while reaching into a pond for her stray golf ball. A bystander tried reaching out for the child to help her but was also injured by the electrical shock. An investigation by Leesfield & Partners attorneys revealed that ground fault interrupters, a device designed to prevent this kind of injury, were not being used, paving the way for the water to become electrified. A $10 million award was secured by attorneys with the firm for the child’s grieving family.
The family of another child represented by Leesfield & Partners was awarded $17.5 million in a settlement after a dresser toppled over, killing their 2-year-old.
Leesfield & Partners also secured a $3 million settlement for the family of a child who died in a gun-related incident and $2.5 million for the family of a child who suffered brain damage aboard a cruise ship.
Leesfield & Partners has also represented children and their families in sickening sexual abuse cases. The firm has repeatedly gone against entities meant to protect children and their best interests such as schools, churches, youth groups, after-school programs, summer camps and the Boy Scouts.
In one case against an airline, Leesfield & Partners secured a confidential amount after the company’s employees failed to protect an unaccompanied minor in their care. The child in that case was made to sit next to a stranger and that passenger placed a blanket over the child and assaulted her.
Currently, Leesfield & Partners is representing a woman who was unknowingly filmed in her cruise ship’s private bathroom in various stages of undress by a crewmember who planted hidden cameras. That crewmember also had footage of numerous children.
In August, that crewmember was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison. The 30-year sentence was handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Melissa Damian. That case is being handled by Bernardo Pimentel II, a Trial Lawyer at the firm.
An $8.6 million recovery was secured by attorneys at the firm in the case of a counselor who repeatedly abused campers at a well-known summer camp in Florida. In that case, the owners of the camp refused to recognize the obvious and sinister behavior of their employee to the detriment of the children placed in their care.
The firm’s Founder and Managing Partner, Ira Leesfield, through his family’s charitable foundation, The Leesfield Family Foundation, has contributed regularly to organizations primarily dedicated to providing direct support to victims and survivors of sexual abuse.
For a complete list of organizations supported by The Leesfield Family Foundation, please visit: www.LeesfieldFamilyFoundation.org.