Caregivers have a moral and ethical duty to prevent child injuries. Landowners, vehicle operators, and other third parties have a legal duty to prevent such injuries. The legal duty of care is based on the story of the Good Samaritan. Just like this man went out of his way to help an injured traveler, third parties must go out of their way to avoid injury. Sometimes, the moral and legal duty overlap. More on that below.
A Columbia personal injury lawyer cannot undo the tragedy of a serious childhood injury. No one can do that. But an attorney can obtain the compensation these families need and deserve to pay accident-related bills and move on with their lives. This compensation usually includes money for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering.
Falls
Children aren’t just small adults. Children have underdeveloped muscles and poor balance, making them especially prone to falls. Children also have an overdeveloped sense of curiosity.
Playground falls might be the most common childhood fall injuries. These injuries are especially severe if the play equipment is built on a hard surface, like the bare ground. Other childhood fall hazards include:
- Stairs,
- Beds without railings.
- Open windows,
- Elevated landings,
- Baby walkers,
- Slippery bathtubs, and
- Cluttered pathways.
Because of their underdeveloped bodies, child injury victims often need Level 1 trauma care, the most intensive, and expensive, form of trauma care.
Struck By
Most kids get bumped into on a regular basis, especially if they play sports or have older siblings. Usually, these run-ins are minor accidents caused by playing a little too hard or getting distracted. But these incidents often cause serious injury. In fact, struck-by injuries are second only to falls in terms of injury-related childhood injuries.
Some children bump into stationary objects, like doors or walls. Still others unintentionally pull over bookcases or other pieces of furniture that almost literally crush them.
Struck by injuries often include a broken pelvis. This bone protects so many vital organs that a broken pelvis bone is usually life threatening.
Motor Vehicle Crashes
Distracted or sleepy teen drivers often get involved in crashes. South Carolina doesn’t have a hands-free law or even prohibit drivers from talking on their phones while they’re behind the wheel. As for fatigue, studies show that teens who must be at school before 8:00 are involved in more collisions than teens who live in areas where school starts later.
These injuries usually include brain injuries, broken bones, internal injuries, and other wounds that are normally permanent, at least to an extent.
Young children often get hurt in crashes because they’re not properly secured in an appropriate car seat. A significant number of safety seats are installed incorrectly, or the child is too big (or too little) for the seat. These children might as well not be buckled in at all.
Bites
Bites and stings are the third most common reason for ER visits for kids under ten, and a Columbia personal injury lawyer can obtain compensation for these injuries.
Caregivers should take bite victims to the ER if the bleeding doesn’t stop within about ten minutes, the wound shows any signs of infection, like redness, a bad smell, or swelling, or the injury has other effects, like dizziness or trouble breathing.
Foreign Objects
Splinters in fingers are a lot like bite injuries. Most ingested foreign bodies, like a pea in a nose, can pass through children’s gastrointestinal tracts without issue, but sometimes they become lodged in the throat, stomach, or soft tissues. Choking, poisonings, and bowel obstructions are the biggest concerns. These injuries almost always require emergency medical care.
Count on a Dedicated Richland County Lawyer
Injury victims are entitled to significant compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer in Columbia, contact the Marc Brown Law Firm. Attorneys can connect victims with doctors, even if they don’t have any insurance or money.