Swanton Child Injury Lawyer 

A personal injury suffered by a child can be devastating both to the child’s life and their parents. As some of the most vulnerable members of the Swanton community, children are also some of the most prone to serious injuries.

Whether a child’s injury stemmed from a negligent parent responsible for supervising them, a medical professional entrusted with maintaining their health, or a landowner who allowed hazardous conditions to exist on their property, the laws of Swanton may offer a remedy for any resulting damages.

If you believe your child was wrongly harmed by the actions of another person or business, a Swanton child injury lawyer with experience in this area of law may be able to help. Work with a compassionate personal injury attorney could help you receive justice for your child.

Negligence in Child Injury Lawsuits

In some circumstances, a child’s injuries may be caused by the negligence of an adult. In order for the injured child’s parents to recover damages on their behalf, the liable adult must have owed the child a duty of care—in other words, they voluntarily took some sort of responsibility or role for the child’s wellbeing.

Adults whose jobs entail supervising children, such as teachers or daycare workers, implicitly take on this duty of care. This legal duty can also extend to other parents who may have been responsible for the supervision of someone else’s children. In some cases, the employers of a negligent adult can also be held responsible for reckless behavior that causes harm to a child.

Irresponsible Doctors and Medical Practitioners

Whenever a medical professional harms one of their patients instead of helping them, they may have committed medical malpractice. Tragically, because children’s bodies are still growing, the damage caused by medical malpractice can be even more severe and—in the worst cases—life-changing.

The laws applicable to Swanton provide a recourse for these injuries if they are caused by a medical professional’s actions that fall below the acceptable “standard of care” in the medical community. A Swanton child injury lawyer could help an individual establish liability.

Liability for Property Owners

In some cases, a child may be injured in Swanton because of hazardous property conditions. In these circumstances, the parents or guardians of the child may be able to recover for these injuries in a premises liability lawsuit. In general, property owners are legally obligated to keep visitors on their property safe from non-obvious dangers.

The law in Swanton also holds businesses that are open to the public, such as amusement parks, swimming pools, or public playgrounds, to a higher standard. For these properties, the business or government entity responsible for the property has a duty to protect visitors from dangers that are not “open and obvious.” This includes a duty to inspect for potential dangers.

Attractive Nuisances

Swanton child injury law considers the relative inexperience of young children and accordingly holds property owners to a higher standard when it comes to protecting minors from injury. Under the “attractive nuisance” doctrine, a property owner may be legally responsible for injuries suffered by a trespassing child if the hazardous property conditions that caused the injury are likely to attract children unable to appreciate the risk.

For example, if a property owner has allowed an abandoned pool to become filled with rainwater, a young child may not be able to understand the dangerous conditions of the abandoned pool. Subsequently, if that child trespasses and is hurt by some element of the abandoned pool, the property owner may be liable for not acting to prevent children from playing in such a dangerous place.

Speaking with a Swanton Child Injury Attorney

If your child’s injury was caused by the careless actions of an adult or business, then you may be able to recover for the damages caused to your child. To learn more about your legal options, contact a Swanton child injury lawyer and schedule an initial consultation today.