Since it was founded in the 1940s, the
law firm of Hourigan, Kluger &
Quinn, PC, has represented numerous
families of children injured or killed
by preventable tragedies. As a tribute
to those children and their families,
and as a way to prevent other children
from suffering the same fate, the firm
established the Hourigan, Kluger &
Quinn, PC, Foundation for Children's
Advocacy in November 2005.
The mission
of the Foundation, known as HKQ Kids, is
to promote a safer future for children in Northeastern Pennsylvania through public awareness and advocacy programs.
“It has been a longtime dream of this firm to honor the memories of the many wonderful children and families we have represented by establishing a foundation to promote child safety,” said Attorney Joseph Quinn, the firm’s Senior Litigation Partner. “It is our fervent hope that the work of HKQ Kids will be a force for positive change in our community and help prevent the kinds of horrible tragedies we have witnessed as lawyers who represent injured people.”
HKQ Kids was established
following the settlement
of a major medical malpractice case in
September 2005 involving 4-year-old Torajee
Bobbett, who died in 2001 due to negligent care at Mercy Hospital in Wilkes-Barre.
HKQ partnered with The Luzerne
Foundation, a well-known local
philanthropic organization, to provide
financial oversight for HKQ Kids.
“The Bobbett case was the touchstone for establishing HKQ Kids, but the reality is we have represented many other families whose children have died or suffered severe injuries as a result of totally preventable hazards,” said Quinn. “Contrary to what others might think, I wish I had never seen any of those cases come through my door.”
Charles Barber, Executive Director of the
Luzerne
Foundation, believes HKQ Kids "fits
perfectly" into his organization's
mission.
"Our job is to
identify needs in our community and fund
programs to address those needs,"
said Barber. “We believe HKQ Kids will
have a tremendous impact on families in
our community."
Quinn said HKQ Kids is much more than simply a philanthropic
organization, sponsoring public
awareness programs on holiday toy
safety, cheerleading safety, Halloween
safety and swimming safety, among
others. In the future, the organization
hopes to sponsor programs in playground hazards, dangerous household products, stranger danger, child safety
seats, day-care centers and other issues
that could affect the safety of
children.
For the 2006 holiday
season, HKQ Kids partnered with the U.S.
Public Interest Research Group (U.S.
PIRG) to promote its 21st annual report, “Trouble in Toyland,” which details potential hazards posed by specific toys on shelves for the holiday shopping season.
HKQ Kids facilitated distribution of "Trouble in Toyland" in Northeastern Pennsylvania through media
exposure and the Internet.
The report is available online in Adobe
PDF format by CLICKING
HERE.
(To view PDF files, you will need Adobe
Acrobat Reader.)
During 2006, HKQ Kids also
sponsored programs on swimming safety,
Halloween safety and cheerleading
safety. For more information on HKQ Kids
projects, CLICK
HERE.
HKQ KIDS - Keeping
Our Kids Safe |
