What to do if your child is injured

Injuries to children are unthinkable, and they are the worst nightmare of any parent or guardian. However, injuries do happen, and when they do, you may need to know what you can do in the interests of your child as the scene unfolds. Health considerations obviously come first, but assuming the injuries are not severe, we’re going to look at increasing awareness of some pertinent matters (if you have been affected, check out this personal injury lawyer working in Orlando).

Don’t apologise to the proprietor 

One of the most common mistakes that people make when faced with a child injury is to apologise to the proprietor of the establishment in which the injury took place (ostensibly on the basis of polite acknowledgement at having “caused” a scene). However, this can lead to tricky legal grounds, as anything said in respect of admitting that a part in the incident was played by the child could mean that a case becomes more difficult to win. 

Let’s take the example of a visit to the cinema. If a child were to become injured due a falling display, the parent may rush to apologise to the manager. However, the duty of care for the safety of the child rests with the landlord, and where a display falls and causes injury either due to improper fixings or due to being slightly knocked (or what would be reasonably be deemed by a jury to be an expected amount of touch where the display is open and in a public place), the the child cannot be held responsible – even in part – for that injury. 

Take pictures of the scene 

CCTV and eyewitness testimony are both useful forms of evidence in convincing a jury that more could have been done to prevent an injury to a child. For example, where poorly maintained equipment in a play barn causes injury, the argument can be reasonably made that the owner could have done more to prevent the situation from developing. However, CCTV and eyewitness testimony are not always forthcoming, and even when they are, poor quality video and muddled versions of events from many partial witnesses could create a less clear picture than is ideal. 

The answer is to take pictures of the scene. Several pictures from different angles can help to show the likely cause of the injury to your child. This type of evidence is also advisable because business owners are unlikely to leave the scene untouched once you have departed the premises, meaning any potential evidence could be tidying up and removed. Photos of the scene will mean that no matter what happens, a visual record of the scene at the time of the injury exists.