Imagine you are walking in a parking lot and notice a toddler alone in a parked car. Is he or she okay? Where is the child’s parent? What would you do? Regardless of the weather or if the windows are open, this child is may be in danger and the person who left her unattended has violated the Florida Law which makes it illegal to leave a child under 6 years old alone in a motor vehicle.
A car can heat up by 20 by degrees in just 10 minutes and can heat up to 110 degrees or more even with outside temperatures in the 60’s. Did you know that a temperature of 107 is deadly to a child or that a child’s body temperature can rise up to five times faster than an adult’s? Did you also know that cracking a window will NOT prevent the temperature …show more content…
Instead of having to wait for the police or EMS to arrive, Florida law gives private citizens the legal right to intervene when time may be of the essence. In that type of situation, the Florida Good Samaritan Act gives you the right to break into a car to remove a “vulnerable person” (defined as a child under the age of 18 or an adult with a physical or mental disability) and provides civil immunity for damages. The statute also applies to domestic animals (dogs, cats and other domesticated animals that may be kept as household pets, but NOT livestock or other farm animals) that are left unattended in parked cars. The law requires the following conditions to be …show more content…
If you do decide to break in and remove the child make sure to remain in communication with the 911 operator, describe the child’s condition and follow the operator’s instructions. According to Jan Null of the Meteorology and Climate Science Department at San Jose State University, an average of 37 children across the country died each year in hot cars between 1998 and 2015. There have been 27 deaths so far in 2016, including three in the State of Florida. Texas is the only state in the nation with more “hot car” deaths than Florida.
So, what would you do? The decision is yours - the attorneys at Heintz & Becker sincerely hope you will choose to see to the safety of a child in need – even if that means you decide you need to break into a locked car to save a child’s life. Although no amount of money can compensate loved ones for a child’s death, we encourage you to call one of our attorneys for a free consultation if you have suffered the loss of a child due to someone else’s
A car can heat up by 20 by degrees in just 10 minutes and can heat up to 110 degrees or more even with outside temperatures in the 60’s. Did you know that a temperature of 107 is deadly to a child or that a child’s body temperature can rise up to five times faster than an adult’s? Did you also know that cracking a window will NOT prevent the temperature …show more content…
Instead of having to wait for the police or EMS to arrive, Florida law gives private citizens the legal right to intervene when time may be of the essence. In that type of situation, the Florida Good Samaritan Act gives you the right to break into a car to remove a “vulnerable person” (defined as a child under the age of 18 or an adult with a physical or mental disability) and provides civil immunity for damages. The statute also applies to domestic animals (dogs, cats and other domesticated animals that may be kept as household pets, but NOT livestock or other farm animals) that are left unattended in parked cars. The law requires the following conditions to be …show more content…
If you do decide to break in and remove the child make sure to remain in communication with the 911 operator, describe the child’s condition and follow the operator’s instructions. According to Jan Null of the Meteorology and Climate Science Department at San Jose State University, an average of 37 children across the country died each year in hot cars between 1998 and 2015. There have been 27 deaths so far in 2016, including three in the State of Florida. Texas is the only state in the nation with more “hot car” deaths than Florida.
So, what would you do? The decision is yours - the attorneys at Heintz & Becker sincerely hope you will choose to see to the safety of a child in need – even if that means you decide you need to break into a locked car to save a child’s life. Although no amount of money can compensate loved ones for a child’s death, we encourage you to call one of our attorneys for a free consultation if you have suffered the loss of a child due to someone else’s