A
five year old boy was killed after he was crushed to death on April 14 in a rotating restaurant at the
top of a tower in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The child was caught
between a table and a wall as the floor was moving.
The child was a guest in the Sun Dial restaurant at the top of the
73 story Westin peachtree Plaza Hotel in downtown Atlanta. The top of the tower
rotates to give guests a 360 degree view of downtown.
The boy’s head somehow became caught between four or five inches
of space between the table and wall near his parents’ table.
The floor stopped rotating
immediately as it is
designed to do when something gets caught. But the child had suffered serious
head injuries and died at a local hospital.
Our View
Losing a loved one, especially a child, is one of the most
terrible tragedies anyone can experience, and our hearts go out to the parents
in this sad accident. The pain of the loss is made worse when the accident that
caused a child’s death was from a prevenatable accident such as this above
tragedy in Atlanta.
Unfortunately,
accidental deaths among children are not uncommon in the US. The CDC reports
that unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death for US children. The
most common fatal injuries include car accidents, burns, drowning, falls and
poisoning. Every year, 12,000 children from ages 0-19 are killed in
unintentional injuries. More
than 9.2 million children are treated each year for non fatal injuries.
The above heartbreaking accident is a rare, freak event, but there
is little doubt that the company that owns the restaurant will come under
scrutiny for the safety of the rotating restaurant. There will probably be
questions about whether the design of the rotating aspects of the restaurant
were designed safely, and many other factors.
People who
have lost a loved one in a preventable accident should be aware that they may
have the option to file a wrongful death lawsuit to obtain justice in such
situations. Our personal injury attorneys in Virginia and North Carolina have
written a helpful guide called What To Do If You Lost a Loved One in An Accident that can help families determine the
best legal path forward in the aftermath of unthinkable personal loss.
The wrongful death guide provides vital information such as
what the statute of limitations is for filing a claim, the types of damages
that can be pursued, and who may be appointed as a personal representative.
Source: northeast-nc.legalexaminer.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment