In Oregon, a Multnomah County jury has awarded the family of an Oregon family $560,000 for injuries sustained by a toddler who fell head first from the second-story duplex that her family was renting in Gresham. The girl, Isabella White, cracked her skull, suffered brain tissue loss, and experienced bleeding in her brain when her head struck the concrete pavement in April 2007. The Oregon premises liability defendants in the case were Keys Rental Management and Keys Rental Holding Co. Only the management company was found liable.
Isabella is now 4, but she was just 2 ½ when the fall accident happened. She fell through a window after her mother had opened it and the window screen gave way.
During the premises liability trial, the family’s Oregon personal injury lawyer argued that the apartment management company should have warned Isabella’s parents that the window in the duplex—just 23 inches off the ground—was a potential injury hazard for kids. Their lawyer also accused the defendant of failing to install safety devices, such as a child-safe screen, that could have prevented Isabella’s fall accident.
Isabella was not the first child to fall through a window managed by Keys Rental Management. In 2004, a 4-year-old boy broke his arm after he fell through a second story window.
Some 4,700 kids in the US end up in emergency rooms each year because of window-related falls. About 18 of them end up dying from their injuries. According to the Oregonian, over six children fell out of Portland windows last summer.
If your child suffered injuries because he or she fell through a window, your family may be entitled to Oregon personal injury compensation. There may have been more a premise owner or manager could have done to prevent the fall accident from happening. Or, a company may have made mistakes during the design or manufacturer of the window and these errors could be grounds for a products liability lawsuit. There also may be more than one party that can be held liable for your Oregon injuries to minor case.
Landlord liable in toddler’s fall from window, Oregonlive.com, January 30, 2009
Oregon company to pay in fall from window, Seattle Times, February 1, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Falls From Heights: Windows, Roofs, and Balconies, American Academy of Pediatrics
Recent accidents show open windows are dangerous to small children, BNET.com, July 6, 2008