The leading cause of death in young children is accidents. Accidents are preventable and when a negligent adult or other entity is responsible, they may be liable for all damages. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 9,000 children died from injuries in the United States in 2009.
The leading causes of death in young children: auto accidents, suffocation, drowning, poisoning, falls and fires, all of which could have been entirely prevented from occurring in the first place.
This leads us to the issue of negligence. In personal injury law, negligence is the failure to use reasonable care or caution when doing something, which leads to injury to another. Because children lack the awareness, maturity and understanding of their environment and obvious dangers, they cannot be held responsible for their actions if they get hurt. When a child is seriously injured or killed, then someone else is responsible. This someone else is always an adult, whether the adult legal
ly liable is the child’s parent, a caregiver, another driver, or another person, someone is legally liable when a child is seriously injured or killed. When a child is injured or killed on private or commercial property, it will be important to determine legal liability.
The leading cause of death in young children is auto accidents. Sadly, a substantial amount of child deaths could have been prevented if they were using proper safety restraints and child safety car seats. In cases where the young accident victim was properly restrained, then the liability falls on who was responsible for the accident. When the other driver was responsible (not the parents), the cause of the accidents typically falls under driver negligence, recklessness, drunk driving or a defective automotive product (this is more rare). The vast majority of auto accidents are caused by driver negligence, and negligence could include any one or more of the unsafe driving behaviors including: speeding, running a red light, running through a stop sign, other traffic violations, failure to yield the right of way, drunk driving, DUID (driving under the influence of drugs), and one of the nation’s top killers – texting while driving.
When children drown in a backyard pool, or at a water park, at summer camp, or at hotel, the accident falls under premises liability law. Whether the death occurred on private or commercial property, the property owner is typically held liable for such injuries or deaths. Children should always be properly supervised when swimming in any type of a pool, even a small wading pool. When a child drowns while swimming or near some other body of water, the accident is always the result of some form of negligence.
Tragically, children have been known to drown in just a couple of inches of water in a bath tub, or a small wading pool, it doesn’t take much and adults always need to be aware of this fact. When a child is injured in a boating accident, often times the accident will be covered by the boat driver’s insurance policy. Much like an auto accident, it’s important to determine which boat operator was deemed “at fault” in the accident. Once liability is determined, the at fault boat operator’s insurance policy will be pursued for compensation.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 4.5 million Americans are bitten by dogs each year, and one in five injuries require medical attention. In 2006 alone, 31,000 people underwent reconstructive surgery to treat their dog bite injuries. The largest risk category is children from 5 to 9 years of age, with the majority of their injuries beings sustained to the head, neck, face and throat. In many states, the dog owner is liable for any damages incurred from the dog bite and attack. Most dog bite claims are filed with either the dog owner’s renter’s insurance policy, homeowner’s insurance policy, or auto insurance policy. If the attack occurred on commercial property, then the damages may be covered by the tenant’s insurance policy. At other times when there isn’t any insurance company available, the dog owner may be financially liable for the child’s injuries and any damages incurred from the dog bite and attack.
When a child is injured in a fall, burned or killed in a fire, or injured or killed in any other way on private or commercial property, the property owner is often legally liable for any damages incurred. Such damages may include: medical bills, ambulance bills, reconstructive surgery, physical therapy, pain and suffering, and much more. In cases where the child lost their life in an auto accident, a drowning, a fall, a fire or any other preventable accident, then their parents may be entitled to file a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of their child. If your son or daughter has been injured or killed as a result of recklessness or negligence, you are urged to contact a personal injury attorney right away. A personal injury attorney will be able to pursue maximum compensation on behalf of your child, and help bring the personal responsible to justice.
