Common Injuries To Children

SWIMMING POOL ACCIDENTS

While swimming pools are a lot of fun for children, those who run and manage pools must take certain steps to keep everyone safe. The unthinkable can happen when pool management or staff fail to take their responsibility seriously. Most people picture drownings when they think of pool injuries, but drownings are rare. Slip-and-fall accidents are the most common type of pool injury children experience when trying to have fun. Slip-and-fall accidents can cause injuries ranging from minor to severe, and the worst cases can result in permanent soft tissue damage. Pools must place no running signs around the pool deck to alert children and their families of the danger.

People getting in and out of the pool create wet surfaces that make it easy to fall, but signs that remind people to be careful make a difference. Being in the water for prolonged periods can soften the skin and increase the odds of getting cut. Pool operators must ensure no sharp objects are in or around the pool, which lowers the risk of injury.

PLAYGROUND ACCIDENTS

Most people don’t consider the possible dangers because they trust those in charge of the playground to keep it safe and in top shape. Loose rails, damaged chains and sharp objects create risks that put your children in harm’s way. If your children were injured at a playground and you want to seek compensation, you might have a case. Decide whether or not the injury resulted from an issue that a reasonable person would have addressed.

FOSTER CARE ABUSE

Foster homes seem like the perfect place for children who have nowhere else to go, and some people assume that all foster parents have the interests of children in mind. Sadly, foster parents don’t always take care of children the way the public believes they do.

Children in foster homes are much more likely to face physical, mental and sexual abuse than children who live with family. If you recently adopted a child, you believe was abused at a foster home, you have the right to seek compensation in addition to pursuing criminal charges. Children have one year from their 18th birthday to file a civil lawsuit and seek damages for the abuse they sustained in a foster home.

Another possible defendant in a foster care abuse case could be the city, state or county, depending on what agency placed the child in the home of an abusive foster parent. If the abused child can prove that the city, state, or county knew or should have known that the home where the child was being placed belonged to a parent who was either abusive or had a history of abuse, then the government can be held liable for the child’s injuries.