Injured Children Facts

An injured child claim exists if a child becomes injured or traumatized because of negligence, physical or sexual abuse, animal attacks, playground incidents, swimming accidents, motor vehicle accidents, or poisonings. Pediatric injuries and trauma include both fatal and nonfatal childhood injuries. There are two types of claims regarding injured children; accidents caused by adults and accidents caused by children.

Schools and property owners can be liable for injuries to children when someone else’s negligence plays a part. The process is different if children cause an accident themselves. Older children may be liable for negligent conduct if they are old enough to make decisions and differentiate right from wrong. Younger children are not liable for accidental injuries they cause because they are too young to understand the difference between right from wrong. However, parents may be held liable for their negligence regarding their own children. 

Personal injury law assumes that children do not have the same judgment as adults, leading to special rules for compensation and liability in accidents. It is important to note that parents may receive coverage for the medical bills of an injured child. 

Data related to injured children:

• On average, 12,175 children died each year in the United States from an unintentional injury. 
• 9.2 million children annually visited the emergency department with a nonfatal, unintentional injury.
• For children younger than 4-years old, the leading causes of death were suffocation and drowning. 
• According to the CDC, 1,300 children are treated each day for nonfatal assault injuries in the emergency department.