Given that school is where students spend roughly a third of their day, it’s no wonder it is the site of many injuries. School districts can be successfully sued for negligence resulting in child injury, but cases must overcome assertions of sovereign immunity, damage caps and denial of duty owed.…
A boy who sustained serious and lasting damage to his knee as a result of deep lacerations caused by shards of broken glass at a public park is entitled to the $425,000 damage award granted by a trial jury, an appellate court ruled recently. The fact the child was not…
The law treats children differently in many respects. In criminal courts, for example, juvenile courts aim for rehabilitation rather than punishment. In civil court, children are often granted exceptions in terms of their understanding of danger and liability. One example of this is seen in the doctrine of attractive nuisance.…
As we near the greatest gift-giving season of the year, we do recognize toys can be of great benefit to children, helping them to develop, learn and explore. However, they are also a source of serious injury. A new report published in the journal Clinical Pediatrics indicates the number of…
Parents who use day care services to help with their family responsibilities should be wary of the potential for negligence and abuse. As with any for-profit caretaking business, it is important to screen individual workers as well as the record of the day care facility. A Florida day care owner…
There was a time when bullying – even severe bullying – was scene as strictly within the purview of schools and parents and those youth involved. Increasingly, however, as awareness has risen and cyberbullying makes harassment almost inescapable, these matters are being handled by the courts. In Florida, a Coral…
Better car seats, seat belts and more effective air bags have been able to decrease the number of child auto accident fatalities by close to 45 percent since 2002, but there have still been over 9,000 child car accident fatalities in the last 10 years — a third of which…
Some child injuries are expected—minor cuts and bruises, and scrapes are common for school-aged children. When parents send their kids off to school, they may anticipate some injuries, but what if the injuries are more serious or permanent? Can parents hold a school liable when a child suffers a serious…
Establishing negligence in West Palm Beach personal injury claims is sometimes fairly straightforward. For example, someone drives drunk and causes an accident that results in serious injuries. Other cases, however, are a bit more complex. Those that involve the attractive nuisance doctrine, often pertaining to child injuries. The attractive nuisance…
There are 48 states with laws requiring children over the age of 3 be restrained in a booster seat. Unfortunately, Florida is not one of them. It seems that our state has lagged behind in creating booster seat laws for our youngest passengers. Some state representatives are working to enact…