Keeping Kids Safe From Harm – What You Need to Know About Child Safety

If you’re a parent, it may seem like there’s a never-ending number of things to worry about in regard to the health and safety of your child. Accidents can happen in your own home, in the home of friends or family, in a daycare situation, on a playground, or in your vehicle.

The most recent accident statistics from the National Safety Council, the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, and other sources tell us that 12,000 children die from injury each year. The leading causes are fire and burns, suffocation, drowning, firearms, falls, choking, bicycle accidents, and poisoning. Here are some frequent types of child injuries and some strategies on how to avoid them.

Playground Accidents

Playground accidents are common and can arise from defective design of playground items, failure of a school or city to maintain the playground equipment properly, or from negligence or misconduct of others who are on the playground with your child. Children can sustain fractures and broken bones, suffer eye injuries, sustain brain damage, or even worse.

Daycare and Preschool Accidents

With working parents, many children spend much of their waking hours in daycare or preschool. While most jurisdictions require childcare workers and daycare and preschool facilities to be licensed and/or certified, things can go wrong. Trips, falls, tumbles and lacerations may happen, and often that’s no one’s fault. But if the daycare providers were negligent or engaged in wilful misconduct, you may have the right to bring a personal injury lawsuit against them if your child was harmed.

Swimming Pool Accidents

Swimming pools provide fun and exercise for children. Unfortunately, however, hundreds of children become involved in drowning and near-drowning accidents in swimming pools every year. A vast majority of these accidents happen at home or at the home of a friend or neighbor, where they could have been avoided had the responsible adult taken measures to ensure a safe environment for children. 

Bounce House Accidents

Inflatable bounce houses and slides are fun for young and old. However, improper setup, failure of adults to supervise, and failure to anchor the play equipment properly can result in serious injuries. These include contusions, lacerations, and injuries resulting from bouncers inadvertently knocking each other around. 

Accidents at Home or With Family, Friends and Neighbors

Daily living at home or visiting with family, friends, and neighbors also carries a variety of perils for children. These include getting burned in the kitchen when someone is cooking, choking on loose objects on the floor, getting bruises or lacerations from sharp furniture edges, sticking a finger in a live socket, choking through entanglement with window share cords, and other concerns. 

Tips To Keep Kids Safe

Here are just a few tips for keeping children physically safe:

• Look for safety hazards, whether in your home or the homes of others, in daycare or preschool, from your child’s viewpoint. Get down on your hands and knees and look around. What would a child want to put in his mouth? This includes batteries, small toys, and other choking hazards, or toxic items such as dishwasher pods.
• Keep your electrical appliances unplugged when not in use, and use plug protectors on unused electrical outlets. 
• Visit daycares and preschools carefully, checking for hazards. Interview the caregivers regarding their health and safety policies and protocols.
• Empty buckets after use. Small children can drown in an inch of water.
• Don’t keep a firearm in the house. If you must, make sure it’s locked in a gun safe. Tell your child to never touch a gun if they come upon one.
• Install smoke alarms throughout your house. 
• Keep your vehicles properly maintained, and always use the right size car seats. 

Liability for Personal Injury to Children

If your child has suffered a personal injury due to the negligence or misconduct of another party, you may be entitled to sue for compensation. Often, the liable party is the person who is entrusted to provide care. However, in certain cases, many parties may be potentially at fault, and it may be difficult to determine who is the responsible party. For example, in the event of a swimming pool accident, a number of parties might be potentially responsible, from the homeowner to a neighborhood association to a lifeguard.

In March 2023, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed HB 837 into law. This so-called tort reform bill made changes to the legal principle of comparative negligence. This has altered the compensation landscape significantly. A Tampa personal injury lawyer who has experience handling comparative negligence issues can help you understand your rights. 

Potential Damages in Personal Injury Lawsuits for Children Injuries

In personal injury lawsuits for children’s injuries, potential damages often include medical bills, emotional distress, and pain and suffering. If the minor was employed, you might recover the loss of future income, and usually, funds recovered may be held in a trust for the child’s benefit. In a worst-case scenario, if your child has died due to someone else’s negligence, Florida law allows the parent or guardian to file a wrongful death claim. In this case, the parent can recover funeral expenses in addition to all other damages in a personal injury lawsuit. In selected cases, the parent may also receive compensation for loss of the support and love that the deceased child would have provided to the family.

Contact A Tampa Personal Injury Lawyer Today

If your child has been injured in an accident that you suspect was caused by another person’s negligence, the legal team at Searcylaw.com is here to help. We know how to level the playing field. Often, insurance companies make it extremely difficult to get the compensation you deserve. And the deep emotions that are aroused in a person whose child has been hurt are often paralyzing. The highly skilled lawyers at Searcy Denney have decades of experience and can offer you the professional and personal skills to help you move forward with your case. Contact us at 800-780-8607 today.