Pursuing Justice For Child Injuries: Our Child Injury Lawyers Will Secure the Compensation Your Children Deserve
Children are the heartbeat of a family – when they are seriously injured, the consequences can tilt a family’s world off its axis. A loud crash, a sudden, piercing cry, the sharp gasp of a nearby adult – these are often the first indicators that something has gone seriously wrong. Other times, it’s an ominous silence in a house normally filled with noise and laughter. Whether it’s a short fall from a tree or a traumatic brain injury from a car accident, healing from a childhood injury often extends beyond visible bruises or scars.
Every 4 seconds, an injured child is treated in an emergency room. Falls, sports injuries, bike accidents, car crashes, near-drownings, poisonings, fires, and deliberate abuse are just a few of the ways in which children are physically hurt each year. Regardless of cause, emotional scars often run deeper than physical, and can reshape a child’s interactions with their environment. Normal childhood activities – like riding a bike or playing soccer after school – may suddenly seem frightening and be avoided. Parents often find it difficult to cope with personality changes in a once-outgoing child, now made fearful, angry, withdrawn or sullen by psychological trauma. The shaken sense of safety that serious injuries induce can have profound, long-term impacts on a child’s continued development.
When a child is injured, parents experience an overwhelming mix of emotions – concern for the child, anxiety about medical expenses, anger at whoever is responsible, and uncertainty about long-term implications. We realize that witnessing your child struggle with pain, mobility limitations, embarrassment over scars or disabilities, grueling surgeries, and post-traumatic stress is incredibly heart-wrenching – and that the financial strain of treatment only compounds your stress and heartache.
That’s where we come in.
When your child is injured by the negligence or dangerous choices of others – a drunk driver, abusive caregiver, poorly maintained playground, or defective product designer – the at-fault party must be held accountable. Though money can never undo the damage to your child or restore what is lost, securing fair compensation can reduce your financial burdens, freeing you to focus on supporting your child’s recovery. Our child injury lawyers can handle complicated investigations, negotiations with insurers, advocacy in the courtroom and any other legal actions necessary to obtain the compensation you and your child deserve.
Child Injury Lawyers Here For You?
“Injury to a child” refers to any harm or damage inflicted upon a minor, whether intentionally or unintentionally. This harm can be physical, emotional, or psychological in nature. Physically, it can range from minor injuries, like cuts or bruises, to more severe traumas, like broken bones, burns, or internal injuries. Emotional or psychological injuries might result from instances of neglect, abuse, witnessing traumatic events, or being subjected to persistent harmful environments or interactions. From a legal standpoint, “injury to a child” can also pertain to deliberate actions or neglect by a caregiver, parent, or another individual that results in harm to the child. Laws across jurisdictions often carry specific definitions, penalties, and protective measures concerning child injury to safeguard the rights and well-being of minors.
To truly understand child injuries, you need to look at the different environments children frequently interact with and the inherent risks each presents. The home, for example, may harbor hidden dangers – a worn, slippery set of stairs, a kitchen counter with sharp utensils within reach, or even toys with small detachable parts that pose choking hazards. Beyond the home, schools and playgrounds, despite being designed for use by children, are not immune to accidents. Faulty playground equipment, rough play or bullying, a patch of ice, or a simple lack of supervision have led to countless child injuries.
While children can sustain injuries in a wide variety of ways, and the circumstances leading to each injury are unique, some causes of serious (or fatal) child injuries are more common than others:
Child Injuries at Home
Countless child injuries and accidents happen in the most familiar surroundings. Common sources of liability include:
- Product Liability – whether the product in question is a toy, piece of furniture, or household item, if a product is defective in design or manufacturing and directly harms a child, those involved in bringing that product to market may be held liable. Proving these cases requires identifying precisely which entity was negligent and how. Retailers, distributors, manufacturers, parts suppliers, and designers might all share in liability.
- Premises Liability – homeowners and landlords have a responsibility to properly maintain their properties and minimize risks to others. If slippery floors, faulty staircases, unsecured pools, or defective electrical wiring cause a child injury, the property owner may be deemed negligent.
- Dog Bites – even friendly family pets can be capable of biting if provoked. However, if the dog has shown aggression before, the owners may be considered liable for any resulting injuries, depending on jurisdiction. The breed, size, and age of the dog often factor into these cases as well.
- Poor Supervision – lack of adequate supervision is a factor in many household accidents involving children. However, who shoulders this responsibility depends on the circumstance. At times, it may extend beyond the parents to negligent caregivers or babysitters.
- Medical Malpractice and Children – doctors and healthcare professionals owe a sworn duty of care to the children they treat. However, negligence can take place at even the best hospitals. Common forms of medical malpractice that cause child injuries include:
- Misdiagnosis – an inaccurate or delayed diagnosis can severely exacerbate a child’s condition. Certain pediatric conditions like infections and cancers tend to manifest differently than in adults, complicating proper diagnosis. Relying on obvious symptoms alone rather than running in-depth tests falls short of reasonable care.
- Surgical Errors – from operating on the wrong body part to leaving surgical instruments inside patients, surgical mistakes occur more often than one might imagine, especially in more complex procedures.
- Medication Errors – in busy pediatric hospital wards, there are instances where incorrect drug doses or medicines are administered to the wrong child. A misdiagnosis or incorrect dosing can have severe health implications on a child.
- Birth Injuries – during the strain of labor and delivery, a doctor’s poor decision making or negligence under pressure may cause harm to the infant. Common birth injuries include broken bones, nerve damage, and oxygen deprivation.
- School and Playground Child Injuries
- Schools and playgrounds are typically safe places of learning, recreation, and play. However, they aren’t without risks, even when reasonable precautions are taken. Common causes of injury in these settings include:
- School Bus Accidents – jolting school bus rides or driver negligence – such as speeding, distracted driving, and disobeying traffic rules – can lead to injury. The school district, bus driver, and even auto manufacturers may bear responsibility for a child’s injury on a school bus.
- Playground Equipment Accidents – faulty, rusted playground equipment, worn swing sets and slides, and lack of proper surface padding can result in fractures, head trauma, and other injuries.
- Physical Education Injuries – lack of supervision or safety equipment and inadequate student training on sports safety can turn a typical P.E class into a nightmare. Liability for an injury in a physical education class may fall on both schools and teachers.
- Bullying and Physical Harm – schools have a responsibility to implement policies against bullying and ensure staff intervenes appropriately if students are being victimized. Failure to do so can make the school liable for any psychological and physical injuries.
- Field Trip Injuries – when they’re a part of the school curriculum, injuries during field trips typically mean the school was responsible for exercising due care and supervision, and failed to do so. However, venues like museums and parks also need to take reasonable precautions to avoid liability.
- Premises Liability Injuries Involving Children – Property owners have a legal responsibility to ensure reasonable care is taken to minimize known premises risks, especially to vulnerable groups like children. If a lapse in care leads to a child getting injured, premises liability laws enable holding the property owner accountable. Our firm has successfully handled premises liability cases involving:
- Inadequately Secured Construction Sites – children are often drawn to the noisy machinery and activities of construction areas. These sites must be appropriately fenced off and signed to prevent unauthorized child access where dangerous conditions may exist. Failure to do so can lead to serious injuries, or even death.
- Poorly Maintained Playgrounds – schools, daycare facilities, apartment complexes, and parks must regularly inspect the play equipment on their grounds. We have seen cases where broken seesaws, worn swing set bearings, cracked slides, and exposed concrete footings led to head trauma and broken limbs. Routine maintenance helps avoid injuries.
- Negligent Pool Supervision – Public and community pools located at apartments, gyms, recreational centers, and hotels must have certified lifeguards actively supervising swimmers. If their inattentiveness allows a child to slip under water unnoticed, devastating injuries may result.
- Trip and Fall Hazards – cracked sidewalks, loose handrails on steps, pathways cluttered with debris, and other tripping dangers can cause children to suffer serious fall injuries. Property owners have a responsibility to address these hazards.
- Dog Bites – while pets should generally be leashed and supervised when outdoors, indoor pets can also bite if provoked in some way, or if their prey drive is triggered by a small child. If a property owner knew their dog had a tendency for aggression but failed to inform guests or take adequate precautions, they share in liability for a bite injury.
