Document Type
Event
Abstract
Abstract — Since the 1990s, preventing vehicular heatstroke has been the focus of many public health campaigns. Parents are implored to never leave their young children unattended in the car, and to check the backseat before getting out of the car. Despite the increase in awareness about child fatalities due to hyperthermia, children continue to be left or forgotten in vehicles with tragic consequences. Interestingly, the decision to charge the negligent caregiver in cases of vehicular heatstroke is not widely studied. While some evidence indicates that case factors (e.g., intentionality and caregiver intoxication) are relevant in the decision to charge defendants in vehicular heat stroke fatalities. Less is known about how extra-legal factors (e.g., race and socioeconomic status) impact legal decisions in these cases. The current study examined 425 cases of vehicular heatstroke that occurred in the United States between 2000 and 2016. The goal of the study was to examine how case factors impacted decisions to charge the caregiver.
A Case Examination of Factors Impacting Charges in Vehicular Heatstroke
Social Sciences - Breakout Session 2
Abstract — Since the 1990s, preventing vehicular heatstroke has been the focus of many public health campaigns. Parents are implored to never leave their young children unattended in the car, and to check the backseat before getting out of the car. Despite the increase in awareness about child fatalities due to hyperthermia, children continue to be left or forgotten in vehicles with tragic consequences. Interestingly, the decision to charge the negligent caregiver in cases of vehicular heatstroke is not widely studied. While some evidence indicates that case factors (e.g., intentionality and caregiver intoxication) are relevant in the decision to charge defendants in vehicular heat stroke fatalities. Less is known about how extra-legal factors (e.g., race and socioeconomic status) impact legal decisions in these cases. The current study examined 425 cases of vehicular heatstroke that occurred in the United States between 2000 and 2016. The goal of the study was to examine how case factors impacted decisions to charge the caregiver.