But the combination of excited children and uninspected playground equipment makes for a hazardous situation for kids. In fact, government statistics indicate more than 200,000 preschool and elementary children will be injured severely enough this year on playgrounds to require emergency room care.

So, what can you do to protect your children at their favorite playground?

Just remember to check for the five Ss. They are:

S RINGS — They attach a swing’s chains to the overhead bar. See if the S rings at your child’s playground are worn or bent. Bent S rings can cause the chain on the swing to come loose. On home playgrounds, swings are responsible for most injuries, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

SHARP EDGES — Bolts and screws, bent metal – check for sharp edges around the playground. They can cause scrapes and serious cuts.

SOFT SURFACES — Mats made of safety-tested rubber are a great surface. Wood chips, mulch or sand, about a foot deep, is fine. On public playgrounds, more injuries occur on climbers than on any other equipment, the CDC reports.

SPACE — Kids need plenty of landing space when jumping off swings or a jungle gym. Make sure the soft surfaces extend well beyond the equipment. A good rule of thumb is double the height of a swing set.

SUPERVISION — Watch your children on the playground – they certainly won’t mind the extra attention.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission says that 80 percent of all injuries to children occur on playgrounds at schools or parks. Fractures of the wrist, arm and elbow are the most common injuries on playgrounds.

While all children who use playgrounds are at risk for injury, girls sustain injuries (55%) slightly more often than boys (45%), the CDC says. Children ages 5 to 9 have higher rates of emergency department visits for playground injuries than any other age group. Most of their injuries occur at school.

The CPSC has published an Outdoor Home Playground Safety Handbook which you can download at http://www.cpsc.gov/PageFiles/116410/324.pdf.

Additionally, the National Program for Playground Safety was created in October 1995 to help communities across the nation examine the critical issues surrounding playground safety. They promote the concept of S.A.F.E. representing supervision, age-appropriate, fall surfacing and equipment to assist in the evaluation of outdoor and home playgrounds. You can read more at http://www.playgroundsafety.org/safe.

Make sure your family has a safe spring and summer by checking for the 5 Ss at your child’s favorite playground.

In addition, in 2009 the federal government reported that:

• 66% of injured workers avoid reporting their injuries out of fear of reprisal
• More than 50% of occupational health workers injured on the job said that they were pressured to play down the extent of their injuries.

If you are injured on the job it is essential that you immediately report your injury to best protect your rights to workers compensation benefits.
Remember that “on-the-job” injuries include a single accident, or workplace exposure caused by repetitive work. They also include aggravation of a preexisting injury or medical condition, and chemical or other work site exposures.

It’s important to your fellow workers, too. Not reporting your injury only makes the workplace more dangerous for those you work alongside, the federal government warned in these studies. The reports states that, “Without accurate data, employers engaged in hazardous activities can avoid inspections and may be allowed to participate in voluntary programs that reward employers with exemplary safety and health management systems by exempting them from routine inspections.”

After an injury on the job remember:

• Immediately notify your supervisor of your injury. 
• Your employer must post a sign in a prominent place stating that you must report your injury in writing within four (4) working days after the accident. Your foreman, supervisor or manager can fill out a written injury report if you are unable to do so. 
• Your employer is required to provide the forms needed to report your accident or workplace exposure. However, whether or not forms are available, always report immediately, and tell your fellow workers you have done so.
• If your injury arises from a single event, you should report the accident immediately. Don’t wait. 
• If your injury is due to workplace exposure, such as wrist problems resulting from checking groceries, report the injury date within four (4) days of when you first believe you are in need of medical attention.
• Failure to report your injury within four (4) days does not legally preclude you from reporting the injury at a later time. Late reporting, however, can result in suspicion that you were not injured at work. Late reporting can result in denial of your claim or loss of compensation for each day the injury is not reported. 
• You have a valid job related injury even when you have a previous back injury or medical condition that is substantially aggravated from an accident at your work or a workplace exposure.

For example, since childhood, a thirty-five year old worker has lived with degenerative disc disease. At age thirty, the disc problem worsened due to an automobile accident during a vacation and a work related injury two months later. A month ago, after falling from a ladder while working, the worker injured his back – further aggravating previous back problems. Despite these issues, the worker has a valid job related injury.

Bill Keating, Steve Polidori, Larry Free and Christina Habas have been listed as 2013 Colorado Super Lawyers®. Mike Keating and Deirdre Ostrowski have been named to the list of 2013 Colorado Rising Stars®.

This will be Bill Keating’s sixth time on the Top 10 and Top 100 Super Lawyers lists, Steve Polidori’s eighth year on Super Lawyers, and Mike Keating’s fourth year on the Rising Stars list. This will be the first year for shareholders Larry Free and Christina Habas on Super Lawyers, and Deirdre Ostrowski on Rising Stars.

Super Lawyers® is a service of the Thomson Reuters, Legal Division.  Each year, the research team at Super Lawyers® undertakes a rigorous multi-phase selection process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, independent evaluation of candidates by the attorney-led research staff, a peer review of candidates by practice area and a good-standing and disciplinary check.  Super Lawyers® can be found online at www.superlawyers.com.  

Ms. Habas was appointed by Chief Justice Michael L. Bender of the Colorado Supreme Court, and will be effective through November 30, 2013.

Commissions on Judicial Performance were created in 1988 by the Colorado General Assembly to provide fair, responsible and constructive evaluations of trial and appellate judges and justices. The evaluations enable voters to make informed decisions in judicial retention elections, and also provide judges with information that can be used to improve their professional skills.

The State Commission on Judicial Performance developed evaluation techniques for district and county judges, justices of the Supreme Court, and judges of the court of appeals. According to statute, those criteria include the following: integrity; legal knowledge; communication skills; judicial temperament; administrative performance; and service to the legal profession and the public.

“I am honored to be a part of this commission, and will do my best to provide accurate information to the state’s voters about judicial performance,” said Ms. Habas.

Ms. Habas began private practice in 1982 and over the next 22 years as an attorney with Watson Nathan Bremer, P.C., and Bruno, Bruno and Colin, P.C. Ms. Habas became a Denver District Court judge in January 2004, serving in all three divisions of that Court, as well as serving as Presiding Grand Jury Judge.

In 2012, she was awarded the annual Judicial Excellence Award by the Colorado Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates – a leading U.S. civil trial lawyers’ organization.

If you plan a long trip or if you regularly commute to work on the Interstate, chances are high you will have to drive through some severe snowfall and wind in Colorado this blizzard season. To protect yourself consider these 10 tips:

(Of course, the best idea is that if you don’t have an important reason for driving you should stay home and wait for the weather and roads to clear.)

1. Fully charged cell phone – Cellular carriers are required by law to complete 911 calls from any cell phone. Any old cell phone will do, even if it’s not activated. Keeping this backup in your car can help if your current cell phone runs out of battery and your car cannot charge it due to a dead car battery.

2. Jumper cables – This must-have item will allow you to jump your car any time the dome light is accidently left on and the battery dies.

3. Spare tire, jack and racket set - These items are mandatory for changing a flat tire. Always keep a set in the trunk of your car. Check you spare to make sure it’s fully inflated now.

4. Roadside flares/reflective triangle – Sitting on the side of the road can be potentially dangerous especially when other drivers may or may not be paying attention. This is especially true at night. Using road flares or reflective triangles can increase your chances of being seen, and helped.

5. Tow strap – Many people don’t realize how important a tow strap is in making it easy to get help when your car won’t start and all you need is for someone to tow you, or pull you back onto the road.

6. Flashlight - Another crucial item to have, especially when changing a flat tire, helping a stranded friend, or swapping insurance information at night.

7. Batteries - dead batteries = dead flashlight

8. Power/Granola bars and bottled water – You never know when you’ll be stranded for long periods of time while waiting for the tow truck or someone else to help you.

9. Blanket and Old Winter Coat – Don’t clean out your closet and donate these, yet. Put them in your trunk!

10. Folding shovel – These shovels can be great if you get stuck in the snow or ice; or if you need to dig some snow or place dirt under the tire to get more traction.

If you do get stranded, experts agree that you should abandon your car only as a last resort. Your car is your only means of shelter unless you see a hotel or public building nearby.

If you happen to have a pet with you in your vehicle and become stranded, it is even more crucial that you stay inside it. Cover the pet with a blanket and keep an eye on their well-being. If you travel with pets frequently, be sure to always have any pet supplies your dog, cat, etc. may need to keep warm and healthy.

            The lawsuit also notes that there were unlicensed and unqualified medical staff members working with Ms. Dones, that Lifestyle Lift failed to properly screen the qualifications or criminal backgrounds of those staff members before hiring them, and did not adequately monitor those staff members once hired.

            Lifestyle Lift centers are located in 19 states, and claim that their procedures are, “safe, affordable and quick.”  They also make representations, through their advertising, that their patients are, “in the best of hands, through every step” of their procedures, and that their patients’ “welfare, satisfaction and safety are of the utmost importance!”  The suit is making a claim under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act for deceptive practices.

            “We are asking Lifestyle Lift to take responsibility for failing to provide for the welfare and safety of their patients.  Instead, they took shortcuts that resulted in severe injuries to Ms. Dones,” said Deirdre Ostrowski of Keating Wagner Polidori & Free, the attorneys working on behalf of Ms. Dones.  The lawsuit is seeking unspecific damages. 

More than 38 million boys and girls between the ages of 5 and 18 participate in organized youth sports. And while sports can be a fun way to socialize and instill values such as teamwork, group physical activities also carry with them the potential for injuries.

In fact, WebMD reports that the number of children treated in emergency rooms for sports related injuries has doubled in the past decade.   Coaches, parents and athletes need to be on the lookout for injuries, especially serious types of injuries that are less visible such as concussions.

Recognizing such injuries and being proactive are key because approximately 3.8 million sports and recreation-related concussions occur in the United States each year. What may seem to be a mild bump or blow to the head can often be far more serious.  Adults are aware that football and hockey are the sports producing the most concussions but WebMD advises parents be aware that the non-team-related activities of bicycling, snow skiing and boarding, and the seemingly safe playground at church or school are also leading locations for concussions.

Contact between athletes, collisions between athletes and objects such as goalposts or hurdles, even just an awkward fall, all commonly cause concussions, the situation where the brain moves rapidly inside the skull.

Parents should watch their children’s organized play closely.  Should a concussion occur on the playing field, there are many signs and symptoms that coaches and parents need to know. For example, athletes who experience any kind of change in behavior, thinking or physical functioning may be in need of care. Be especially cautious with daughters.  Female athletes have a higher rate of concussions than boys who play similar sports. The reasons for this are not well understood says a study published in Pediatrics.

Recognizing this, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has stepped in to help with the development of the “Heads Up: Concussion in Youth Sports” tool kit.

The kit provides a comprehensive list of signs and symptoms of a concussion as well as important steps to take when a concussion is suspected. The materials are available in both English and Spanish, include on online concussion training course for coaches

http://www.cdc.gov/concussion/HeadsUp/Training/HeadsUpConcussion.html,plus:

* a fact sheet for coaches

* a fact sheet for athletes

* a fact sheet for parents

* clipboards with concussion facts for coaches

* magnets with concussion facts for coaches and parents

* posters with concussion facts for coaches and sports administrators

* a quiz for coaches, athletes and parents

To learn more about concussions or to order the “Heads Up: Concussion in Youth Sports” tool kit free of charge, visit:  www.cdc.gov/ConcussionInYouthSports.

Keating was also selected as the 2013 “Lawyer of the Year” for Denver Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs.  He is listed as a Best Lawyers in America® in medical malpractice law – plaintiffs, personal injury litigation – plaintiffs and product liability litigation – plaintiffs.  For more than 20 years, Keating has been selected to the Best Lawyers® list.  He focuses on personal injury, wrongful death, and complex catastrophic injury matters including product liability, fire and explosions, trucking and auto collisions, automotive defects, construction accidents and insurance bad faith.   

Wagner is listed for personal injury litigation – plaintiffs.  He specializes in plaintiff’s personal injury with the focal point of his work being the explanation of serious injuries through videotape settlement brochures. His videos take the client’s case directly to the decision makers and afford them the opportunity to hear first-hand from the client, family members, physicians and other experts.

Polidori is listed for personal injury litigation – plaintiffs and product liability litigation.  Polidori, a former Arapahoe County Deputy District Attorney helps injured individuals and their families in catastrophic injury, product liability and wrongful death cases.