No parent expects a routine visit to a store, apartment complex, playground, or neighbor’s home to end with a trip to the emergency room. Yet children suffer serious injuries every day from hazards such as slippery floors, broken playground equipment, unsecured swimming pools, aggressive dogs, inadequate security, or dangerous conditions that a property owner failed to fix or warn about.
If your child was injured on another’s property due to unsafe property conditions, it is essential to understand your legal rights as well as the legal rights of your child to secure medical care, protect your family’s financial stability, and hold all negligent parties accountable. An experienced child injury attorney can support your family through this challenging time by helping you pursue an injury claim and seek the compensation needed to support your child’s recovery and long-term well-being.
Premises Liability Claims for Children Injured Due to Unsafe Property Conditions
When a child is injured on another’s property, families may be left facing emotional trauma, medical expenses, and difficult questions about how the incident could have been prevented. A premises liability claim against a property owner may be an option to recover a fair settlement after your child was injured on their property.
What Is Negligence in a Premises Liability Claim?
In a premises liability claim, negligence occurs when a property owner fails to take reasonable steps to keep their property safe or warn visitors about potential dangers. For a child injury claim to succeed, families generally must show that the unsafe condition or the owner’s failure to address it was a direct cause of the child’s injuries.
For example, a child visiting an apartment complex falls through a broken stair railing that the property owner had been aware of but failed to repair. If the child suffers serious injuries requiring medical treatment, the family may have grounds for a premises liability claim if they can show that the owner’s failure to maintain safe conditions led to their child’s injury.
Premises Liability Accident Statistics
Chilren account for 22 percent of all emergency department visits and Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy finds that accidental injuries are the leading cause of death among children between the ages of one and 14. Here are some child injury statistics related to dangerous premises:
- A recent study examining injuries in public daycare centers found that falls were among the leading causes of injury.
- In 2021, 380 children under age 15 fatally drowned in pools or spas; a 12 percent increase from 2020.
- 75 percent of child drowning victims are under age five.
- 81 percent of fatal child drownings happen in residential settings.
- According to the National Safety Council (NSC), between 1,000 and 2,000 people are injured on rides at amusement parks in the U.S. and Canada each year.
Premises Liability Cases Involving Children
Unfortunately, there are a wide variety of situations that can lead to a premises liability claim for a child injury, including:
- Shootings due to inadequate security
- Ride injuries due to poor maintenance
- Playground injuries due to poor maintenance
- Swimming pool injuries due to failure to monitor or adequately secure the pool
- Accidents at parades and other celebrations due to poor planning for crowds or other issues
- Bounce house injuries due to overcrowding
- Drownings at the beach due to failure to provide notice about rip currents or fill in dangerous holes in the sand
Determining Liability in Premises Liability Accidents
Understanding who may be responsible for an injury your child sustained on someone else’s property is an important first step in protecting your child’s rights and pursuing the compensation your family may need. It’s important to understand that determining liability is not always straightforward because responsibility may involve multiple individuals or organizations, including property owners, business operators, landlords, tenants, property managers, maintenance companies, or other third parties.
- If a property owner failed to maintain safe conditions or address known hazards, liability may rest with the owner or the party responsible for maintaining the property. Dangerous conditions such as broken stairs, unsafe playground equipment, unsecured swimming pools, slippery surfaces, or inadequate safety measures can put children at risk of serious injury.
- If a business failed to keep its property safe or warn visitors about dangerous conditions, the business may be responsible for a child’s injuries. For example, a retail store, restaurant, amusement park, or other public business may be liable if a child is injured because of a hazard employees knew about or should have discovered through reasonable inspections.
- If a landlord or property management company failed to repair unsafe conditions, liability may extend to those responsible for the upkeep of the property. This may include hazards such as broken railings, defective locks, unsafe common areas, or other conditions that create an unreasonable risk of harm to children.
- If a government entity failed to properly maintain a public property or address known safety hazards, it may be responsible for a child’s injuries. Cities, counties, and other public agencies may be liable when unsafe conditions at public parks, playgrounds, swimming pools, or recreational facilities create an unreasonable risk of harm. Claims involving government entities often have specific notice requirements and deadlines; a child injury attorney can help you navigate and understand any rules that apply.
- If a third-party contractor contributed to the unsafe condition, that company may also share responsibility for the injury. For example, a maintenance company, construction contractor, or equipment installer may be liable if negligent work, poor repairs, or improper installation created a dangerous condition that led to a child’s injury.
How a Personal Injury Attorney Can Help
A personal injury lawyer can help by thoroughly investigating the accident, identifying all potentially responsible parties, and gathering the evidence needed to build a strong claim. An experienced attorney understands how to navigate claims against all types of parties to pursue compensation for medical expenses, future care needs, pain and suffering, and other losses. Having legal guidance allows parents to focus on their child’s recovery while protecting their family’s legal rights.
Contact a Child Injury Lawyer Today!
A child injury lawyer can help you recover a full and fair settlement for the injuries sustained to your child caused by the negligence of another. We know the sneaky strategies used by insurance companies to get injured people to agree to settlements far below what they are worth. There are no up-front costs to you to file a claim and our clients typically end up with a settlement or jury award that is five to ten times larger than they could have negotiated on their own. We have been representing residents of Whatcom County, Skagit County, Island County and Snohomish County who were injured in Washington State since 1979. Contact the experienced and hard-working child injury lawyers at Tario & Associates, P.S. in Mount Vernon, WA today for a FREE consultation!
