Several of the new Florida laws in effect this month are designed to protect infants and school children. More than 150 new Florida laws went into effect this month, and several are designed to better protect infants and young school children, say personal injury lawyers with Jacksonville and Orlando’s Harrell and Harrell.
One new act requires hospitals and other birth centers to incorporate safe sleeping practices for newborns ant to train new parents on those practices. It also calls for specialized training for first responders, and for Florida’s Medical Examiners Commission to develop and implement a protocol for the forensic investigation of SIDS cases. Statistics from the U.S. Department of Health, more than 200 infants in Florida suffered Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, commonly known as SIDS, in2010. SIDS is a leading cause of infant death both in Florida and nationwide.
Another new law requires medical care for newborns who survive botched abortion procedures and penalizes providers who don’t have medical care for infants born alive despite attempted abortions. In part a response to high profile school emergencies like the gunman attack on an elementary school, Newton, Colorado, legislators passed an act that requires schools to implement policies and procedures for both emergency drills and real emergencies. These include weapon-use and hostage situations, hazardous materials or toxic chemical spills, weather emergencies and exposure as a result of a manmade emergency.
The law requires ramped up procedures for accurate accounting for all enrolled students and timely notification of parents about emergency situations. The same act also requires schools to keep a ready supply of epinephrine auto injectors to quickly treat students experiencing anaphylactic shock. Plus, students with life-threatening allergies are now allowed to carry their own injectors and self-administer epinephrine while in school, participating in school-sponsored activities, or traveling to and from school-sponsored activities, so long as the school has been provided with proof of parental and physician authorization.