Child injuries can happen anywhere. Life-changing injuries can be caused because of a negligent dog owner, a lazy property owner, or defective products. Even when parents do their best to make sure their children are safe, kids can be injured at school, daycare, or at a neighbor’s house because of poor supervision. If your child suffered injuries from a negligent act, you may be able to file a lawsuit. Contacting our Texas personal injury lawyers can give you insight into whether negligence is the cause of your child’s injuries and potential legal actions you can take.
Recognizing Injuries in Children
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that more than 7,000 children and teens aged 0-19 died because of unintentional injuries in 2019. That is about 20 deaths each day. Leading causes of child unintentional injury include motor vehicle crashes, suffocation, drowning, poisoning, fires, and falls. Child injury is often preventable.
Children are less coordinated than adults and are more accident-prone. As children grow, physical and cognitive abilities, degrees of dependence activities, and risk behaviors change. Children are also naturally more curious than adults. This can lead to dangerous experimentation with different things and testing risky boundaries.
Depending on the circumstances of your child’s injuries, parties who may be held liable include:
- School or daycare
- Babysitter
- Property owner
- Coach
- Driver
- Physician or medical professional
- Dog owner
- Product manufacturer
- Government entity
What Kind of Childhood Incidents Can Lead to Injuries?
Amusement Park Injuries
Cases involving amusement park injuries are often in the news. A child injured in an amusement park can suffer severe injuries or, possibly, even death. Anticipating a day of fun should not have dire consequences. The negligence of park managers or ride operators should never be tolerated in an amusement park.
Car and Booster Seat Failure
Car accidents are more likely to cause injuries to children than any other type of event. In addition to the accident itself, parents should also beware of the possibility of car and booster seat failure. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommends replacing a child restraint whenever it was in a crash no matter the severity of the crash.
Dog Bites
Dogs are man’s best friends, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t be dangerous or unpredictable at times. A dog bite puts children at risk for infection, amputation, lifelong anxiety, or death. Dog owners have a responsibility to make sure their animals are always secure. In Texas there is the “one-bite rule.” This states that unless the dog owner knows that their dog has vicious propensities or has actually bitten someone before, you’re not allowed to recover from that person unless you show that that person was negligent somehow in the way that they handled their dog.
Swimming Pool Accidents
Accidents involving swimming pools are a leading cause of injuries and accidental death among Texas children. Every day across the country, two kids 14 or younger die in a drowning accident.
School and Daycare Injuries
Injuries sustained in school, church, or daycare are more common than many parents believe. In the event that these cases are caused by the negligence of an employee in any of these institutions, parents can hold the facility accountable.
Choking
Parents always should keep an eye out for their children putting things in their mouths. Small throats and immature swallowing reflexes put children at risk for serious choking injuries or death. This includes small toys or toys with removable or easily breakable parts. Suckers are a common choking hazard, and children under the age of 5 should be monitored with this candy. Products made for adults can even cause children to choke. Children commonly choke as a result of negligence or a defective product.
Bus Crashes
More than 23 million school-aged children ride to and from classes on school buses every day in America. The National Safety Council reports that of the people injured in school bus-related crashes from 2011 to 2020, about 33% were school bus passengers, 8% were school bus drivers, and 54% were occupants of other vehicles. The remainder were pedestrians. It is important to note that the most common cause of unintentional injury for children is traffic accidents. Bus accidents are often the result of a negligent bus driver or poor maintenance. It’s also important that the officer at the scene test for the presence of alcohol in the bus driver’s system.
What is an Attractive Nuisance?
An attractive nuisance is a temptation such as a playground, fishing pier, or swimming pool that young children are likely to trespass. A child’s natural curiosity can be dangerous. If a homeowner has a dangerous trampoline in their backyard, then they are responsible to ensure that the trampoline can’t be accessed by small children. In the event a neighbor’s child wanders into the homeowner’s yard and is injured after falling off the trampoline, the owner can be held responsible.
To avoid a claim on their insurance or a lawsuit, property owners should take precautions to ensure their property cannot is safe. This can be as simple as repairing a broken fence or adding a lock to a pool gate.
Other examples of attractive nuisances include:
- Swimming Pools
- Hot tubs
- Climbing walls
- Swing sets
- Ponds
- Stock tanks
- Trampolines
- Treehouses
- Skateboard ramps
- Hammocks
- Pets
more difficult to diagnose a soft tissue injury and then provide a sufficient amount of medical evidence.
What Kind of Compensation is My Child Entitled to After an Injury?
The aftermath of a serious injury can leave lasting damage on kids. Because children are still developing, their whole life can be affected because of an unnecessary and preventable incident that happens to them. The responsible party can be held accountable for the following types of child injury damages:
Medical Bills
- Surgery
- Emergency room visits
- Doctor’s visits
- Physical therapy
- Psychological therapy
- Medical devices, like casts, crutches, or wheelchairs
- Medication expenses
Non-Economic Damages
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Life changes due to scarring and other physical changes
- Mental anguish, stress, and anxiety
- Loss of ability to earn income
A Child Injury Lawyer from Parker Law Firm Can Help
As a parent, there is nothing worse than watching your child suffer. Our Texas personal injury lawyers believe your focus should be on your child’s health and recovery, not fighting insurance companies for compensation. Because damages are more complicated when they involve a child’s injuries, and the full extent of your child’s injuries may not yet be apparent, it’s important to work with an experienced personal injury lawyer.