Courtesy: Star Tribune
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New law protects children from falling out of windows
Nationwide, nearly 5,000 children are hurt or killed every year from falling out of windows. But now there's a big push here in Minnesota to protect our children, thanks to a little girl named Laela. She's a Minneapolis toddler who has accomplished more in three years than most people do in a lifetime. June 16th has been declared Laela Shaugobay day by the mayor or Minneapolis and now, a state law is named for the little girl who almost didn't make it. "Horror, pure horror. That was the worst day of my life, also the best because she survived," says Ruth Shaugobay, Laela's mother. On June 16, 2006 little Laela Shaugobay was about to celebrate her 2nd birthday. She climbed a piece of furniture inside an apartment building on Franklin, pushed on a loose window screen and fell four stories. "Like the worst thing anybody could possibly imagine," says Ruth. Less than two months later, a 2-year-old boy fell out a second story window in the same apartment complex and died. So began the push to change Minnesota's building code. Jim Graham runs Many Rivers East and West apartment complex and led the charge to make windows safer. Right now, state building code requires screens, but only to keep out the elements. So last month, the governor signed Laela's law to change that. It requires the Commissioner of Labor and Industry to develop new building code standards for windows that will keep children from falling out. The new code must be ready by 2009 and will apply to all new construction. "Who will protect the children if we don't," says Jim Graham. "There are laws pending in Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin and we expect others states will follow suit," says Minnesota DFL Senator Linda Berglin, who authored the bill. The governor signed Laela's law as part of the Health and Human Services budget bill. Laela's mother testified at committee meetings before the bill was passed.
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