Every parent’s worst nightmare is any type of harm befalling his or her child. Unfortunately, studies have shown that millions of child injuries occur in the United States each year. While some children suffer injuries through the natural course of being children at play, some injuries are the result of negligence, or worse; they are intentional.
If your child suffers an injury and you think it was due to negligence or the intentional cruelty of another, it’s vital to understand your rights and know what your options are. Once you address the immediate medical concerns of such an incident, reach out to a competent, experienced personal injury attorney to start the process of seeking compensation and holding the responsible parties accountable for their actions.
Assessing Fault in Child Injury Cases
The first thing you need to establish when building a case is who is at fault for the accident. If your child suffers an injury at school, you need to know the details of the situation. Your lawyer will help you gather evidence, including medical reports, eyewitness statements, and even security camera footage, if such footage is available. Many schools have CCTV or similar systems that can provide the court with a clear picture of how your child’s injuries happened.
Schools must also follow all applicable laws when it comes to supervising the children in their care. A distracted or negligent supervisor can lead to child injuries. Lack of adequate supervision is grounds for proving negligence in these cases. Your child’s injury could fall under the purview of several different types of law, such as:
– Personal injury. If a negligent supervisor could have prevented your child’s injury through better supervision, he or she can be liable for the damages. This could include a negligent bus driver, improper food preparation in the school cafeteria, improper playground supervision, or other similar circumstances.
– Product liability. If a defective product injured your child or resulted in an illness, you can file a defective product liability claim against the manufacturer. Companies must ensure they manufacture their products safely, that the products perform as advertised, and warn users of all potential safety issues inherent to the product. This could include dangerous food provided by an outside vendor.
– Premises liability. An unsafe condition at a school may cause injury. Property owners must ensure their facilities and grounds pose no threat to lawfully present visitors. Schools have a higher degree of care in this regard, because they are responsible for the care of children. Failure to clear ice and snow, neglecting to mark wet floors with warning signs, or failing to fix broken stair railings would all fall under premises liability law.
– Criminal conduct. Intentional harm inflicted on your child may not only result in a civil action for damages against the responsible party, but also criminal charges. Bullying is unfortunately prevalent in our country’s schools, and in some states, the parents of an injured child can press charges against the bully’s parents. Additionally, if an adult school employee intentionally harms a child, the school can be liable for failing to research the offender’s background adequately or other similar circumstances.
Filing a Lawsuit
It’s important to remember that public schools are government entities, and the state’s statute of limitations and process for filing claims is much stricter than claims against other entities. The window in which you may file a claim against a government body is narrower than filing a claim against other parties. Additionally, your case may involve one or more defendants, depending on the situation.
Connect with an attorney who can fully investigate the details of your case and apply the proper legal knowledge. Any personal injury can be expensive, emotionally taxing, and leave permanent damage, and this is especially true of cases involving children.