What was intended to be a fun celebration of the end of school for children at Frederick Elementary School in southern Oklahoma turned into a frightening ordeal that sent seven kids to the hospital with broken bones and concussions. The children were playing on one of three inflatable obstacle courses, similar to a bounce house, when a strong wind lifted the inflatable into the air and overturned it on top of one of the other rides. Of the seven fifth-grade children injured, four were treated and released, and three were hospitalized overnight for observation of head injuries.

Frederick Fire Chief James Heap told reporters he was on the scene of the accident because his daughter is a student at the school. He called the incident a “freak accident,” saying the inflatable obstacle course was properly secured. He said the inflatables were placed and secured at the north end of the football stadium, and that a strong wind from the south blasted through the stadium “like a big whirlwind.” Heap said that the strength of the wind ripped the mounting spikes securing the inflatable out of the ground and tossed the ride.

Although bounce houses seem relatively safe–after all, kids are jumping and landing on a soft surface–they can be dangerous, even deadly. A 3-year-old was killed in one bounce house accident when the child was accidentally crushed by two adults, another girl broke her neck and died doing somersaults down an inflatable slide, and a teen boy is partially paralyzed after attempting to do a back flip in a bounce house and breaking his neck.

In fact, a study in the scientific journal Pediatrics reveals that in the two decades from 1990 to 2010, nearly 65,000 children were injured in inflatable accidents–the equivalent of 31 per day, or one child hurt every 46 minutes. The study’s co-author, Dr. Gary A. Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, says of the inflatable injuries, “If this was an infectious disease, we’d call it an epidemic, and it would be on the front pages all over the country.”

Still think the news about inflatable accident injuries is overblown? Watch this video to see what happens when strong winds confront inflatable amusements:

Bounce houses and similar “inflatable rides” have quickly become a party staple over the last several years. In the Oklahoma City metro-area, there are several indoor bounce house facilities: Jump!Zone in Oklahoma City, Bouncin’ Craze in Edmond, and Bounce Town in Yukon. These inflatable play places eliminate possibility of an inflatable ride becoming airborne in the perpetual Oklahoma winds, but even here, certain safety precautions must be observed to limit liability and prevent accidents.

Consumer Reports proposes the following safety tips for anyone considering allowing children to use an inflatable play device or bounce house:

• Make sure the inflatable ride is attended by a trained operator
• Check with the operator to ensure that the inflatable is properly anchored; if renting, secure the inflatable to the ground with pegs
• Limit the number of children and/or adults who can be on the device at one time
• Make sure the inflatable is neither overloaded nor unstable
• Position the blower so that it cannot become accidentally unplugged, causing the device to lose air and collapse

Visit our website to read more about child injury and premises liability accidents, or to consult a personal injury lawyer about your claim.

As the families and friends of five women killed in a deadly limousine fire struggle to come to terms with the deaths of their loved ones, investigators struggle to determine what caused such a lethal vehicle fire. Meanwhile, the limousine’s chauffeur says that he helped pull several of the surviving women to safety, yet one survivor disputes his claim.

The horror unfolded Saturday night in the San Francisco Bay area as nine women were having a girls’ night out to celebrate a wedding. At approximately 10:00 p.m., one member of the party began to tap on the partition between the passengers and the driver, trying to get him to pull over because there was smoke in the back of the limousine. The driver claims he misunderstood the woman, thinking she was asking if it was okay to smoke in the vehicle. A short time later, as she again pounded on the partition, screaming, “Pull over! Pull over!” he realized the seriousness of the situation.

According to driver Orville Brown, he pulled over and helped three of the survivors through the 3 foot by 1-1/2 foot window in the partition. When one survivor went around to the back of the vehicle to open a door, the driver says, “Everything happened so fast. When that back door opened, it just burst into flames.” A witness reported that the flames were so intense, she could feel the heat on her face even though she was in her own car the entire time.

Survivor Nelia Arellano, however, disputes Brown’s account. She says that when she tried to get him to pull over, “he does not want to listen.” Arellano says that when he finally stopped the limousine, she squeezed through the partition and ran around back to try to help her friends escape the inferno. She says that Brown did nothing to help the passengers escape, a claim which may be supported by a coroner’s account that one woman escaped through the partition, and three got out through the rear driver’s side door.

Although there were nine passengers in the limousine, it was licensed to carry only eight. Investigators have not determined if being over capacity contributed to the women’s deaths.

Five members of the party, including the bride who was the guest of honor, perished in the fire. The driver and four women escaped, two of whom are still hospitalized in critical condition with serious burn injuries.

The primary question in this case, however, is not how the survivors escaped; rather it is how such an enormous fire could have started. Driver Orville Brown says that there was no sign of a problem with the vehicle prior to the fire. A California Highway Patrol spokesman says that photographic evidence indicates that the fire started in the trunk, although he could not determine yet whether the fire started in the interior or exterior of the limousine.

A fire starting in the rear of a vehicle is an anomaly. Vehicle rescue expert Ron Moore says that it is unusual for “people to die in a vehicle without a crash.” He continues, “Normally, fires start in the engine, so you have a more controlled situation.” According to the U.S. Fire Administration, only four percent of vehicle fires originate in the trunk. However, in this case, a fire in the rear of the vehicle blocked the most available exit for the limousine’s passengers.

Investigators say it will take weeks to determine the cause of the fire and whether or not Limo Stop, the company who owned and operated the limousine service, exhibited any negligence in the fire.

Read more about injury and wrongful death litigation on our personal injury lawyer website.

A woman in Osage County in northeast Oklahoma was killed earlier this week when her riding lawnmower rolled over and pinned her beneath the machine. Her death illustrates just how dangerous one of the most common yard maintenance tasks can be.

As spring and summer bring warmer weather and the grass begins to grow, yard work becomes more common. Every day, Oklahoma neighborhoods are filled with the sounds of buzzing lawn mowers. Unfortunately, this common task of mowing the lawn can cause significant injury or death for tens of thousands of people across the nation.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, approximately 70,000 people suffer serious injury or death in a lawn mower accident each year. In 2010, more than 250,000 people received medical treatment for lawn mower related injuries. Of that number, more than 17,000 were children. In fact, approximately 800 children suffer amputation in a lawn mower accident each year, making mowers the leading cause of childhood amputation. Nearly 100 people are killed in mower accidents each year, with the majority of those deaths attributed to cardiac arrest.

Lawn mower injuries include:

• Cuts and lacerations
• Burns
• Eye injuries
• Broken bones
• Dislocations
• Internal injuries from being pinned beneath a mower
• Heart attack
• Heat stroke and overexertion
• Severed fingers and/or toes
• Limb amputation

According to Consumer Watch, most mower accidents involve children under the age of 15 and adults over the age of 60. The most common lawn mower-related injuries are those resulting from a victim being struck by debris and projectiles hurled from the mower’s spinning blades. However, rollover and run-0ver accidents cause the most catastrophic injuries.

Lawn mower accidents are typically the result of negligence. Poorly designed riding mowers may be prone to rollover; inadequate maintenance can cause a mower to malfunction; lack of safety precautions can lead to eye injury, falls, or running over a person.

A safety task force comprised of the American Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery, American Academy of Pediatrics, and American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons offers the following lawn mower safety tips to avoid injury:

• Only use a mower with a control that stops the mower blade from moving if the handle is let go.
• Children should be at least 12 years of age before operating a push lawn mower, and age 16 to operate a driving lawn mower.
• Make sure that sturdy shoes (not sandals or sneakers) are worn while mowing.
• Prevent injuries from flying objects, such as stones or toys, by picking up objects from the lawn before mowing begins. Have anyone who uses a mower or is in the vicinity to wear polycarbonate protective eyewear at all times.
• Do not pull the mower backward or mow in reverse unless absolutely necessary, and carefully look for children behind you when you mow in reverse.
• Always turn off the mower and wait for the blades to stop completely before removing the grass catcher, unclogging the discharge chute, inspecting or repairing lawn mower equipment or crossing gravel paths, roads, or other areas.
• Use a stick or broom handle (not your hands or feet) to remove debris in lawn mowers.
• Do not allow children to ride as passengers on ride-on mowers and keep children out of the yard while mowing.
• Drive up and down slopes, not across to prevent mower rollover.
• Keep lawn mowers in good working order. When using a lawn mower for the first time in a season, have it serviced to ensure that it is working correctly.

The following video demonstrates people who clearly did not adhere to best safety practices for lawn mower use:

Unsafe working conditions, poor workplace safety policies, malfunctioning or poorly designed lawn mowers, and personal negligence can all contribute to dangerous lawn mower accidents. If you have been injured in a mower accident and you believe someone else had culpability in your injury, contact an Oklahoma injury lawyer for an evaluation of your claim.