Child Related Injuries
When someone’s negligence causes an accident, it can be very dangerous. The at-fault party can be sued for compensation money for injuries. However, if the victim is a child, the repercussions can be even more severe. Judges oftentimes award a large amount of compensation to children in order to punish people whose carelessness harms children. Some of the most common causes of child accidents can be found here.
Motor Vehicle Accidents
One of the most common causes of accidents that harm children are motor vehicle accidents. This is not surprising, as automobile accidents also harm many adults. The causes of these accidents can be the fault of the driver in the same car as the child, or the driver in another car. A parent or other adult transporting children can be at fault for child injuries due to not using a booster seat, letting children who are too young ride in the front seat, using seat belts improperly, or from being intoxicated and causing an accident.
Teen drivers are also the cause of many teenage injuries and deaths in the United States. Such drivers are generally inexperienced and more likely to take risks, meaning that they get into more car accidents than adult drivers. Even if someone else caused an accident, if one of the reasons listed above is the cause of the child’s injury, both parties share blame for the accident.
Furthermore, motor vehicle accidents account for child injuries and deaths when children are pedestrians. These injuries tend to be more severe and oftentimes fatal because there is nothing to protect the child from the impact of the car. An average of 30,000 children in America are injured in traffic accidents as pedestrians.
Again, negligence can be difficult to prove in these cases. Is it the driver’s fault for harming the child, or is the parent at fault for not taking reasonable precautions to protect the child? The answer will vary from case to case.
School bus accidents, while considerably rare, also account for some child injuries in America. About 10,000 children are injured in school bus accidents each year, with an average of 21 children dying as a result of these accidents.
Common Outdoor Accidents
Other common accidents that cause child injury include drowning, playground injuries, injuries that result from falling, dog bites, and sports accidents. As a parent, you should always take reasonable precautions in order to protect your children from danger.
In the unfavorable event that an accident does occur, you will have to prove that it was another person’s negligence and not your own that caused the child’s injury. If you are able to prove this, you will be entitled to compensation.
If your child has been injured in an accident, you should discuss what happened with a personal injury lawyer. This type of lawyer will know the correct action to take for your case and can help you get compensation.