Child Injury
Lawyers

My Child Got Hurt: What Do I Do Now?

When your child gets hurt, it’s a feeling like no other. Your heart sinks. You worry. You wonder what comes next. And you might feel like the whole world is spinning out of control.

You hope your child will grow up safe and happy. You teach them. You protect them. But sometimes, despite all your efforts, something terrible happens. A child gets injured, not because they were clumsy, but because someone else made a mistake. Someone was careless. A dangerous product was sold. A person wasn’t paying attention. When these preventable tragedies strike, your child deserves justice. They deserve every chance at a healthy future, and they deserve full compensation for what they’ve been through.

This guide is for you. It’s built on decades of experience gained from sitting with families just like yours and fighting tirelessly in courtrooms across the country. We’re going to discuss what “negligence” means, who can be held responsible, how to build a strong case, and what kind of support your child might need for their entire life. We’ll also cover various types of injuries that children can suffer. This isn’t just a list of facts; it’s a roadmap to protecting your child’s rights.

Remember this very clearly: When a child is seriously injured, their future depends on getting help. The sooner you act, the better. Your child deserves comprehensive medical care, long-term support, and full compensation for their suffering. Don’t carry this burden alone. If your child has been injured due to someone else’s negligence or mistake, please do not hesitate. Call Jeff Killino and the team at The Child & Birth Injury Lawyers immediately. We are here to fight for your child.

How Does Your Child’s Legal Journey Work?

When your child is injured, navigating the legal system can feel like climbing a mountain. It’s confusing. It’s overwhelming. And you’re already dealing with so much heartache. But this is where our firm, Child & Birth Injury Lawyers, steps in. We take on that enormous burden. We guide you every step of the way. Our goal is straightforward: to secure justice and ensure your child receives the full compensation they need for their recovery and their entire future.

Let’s break down how we fight for your child. It’s a journey, but we walk it with you.

Who Is “To Blame” When a Child Gets Hurt?

Most child injury cases we handle are based on something called “negligence.” This simply means that someone acted carelessly. Or they didn’t act when they should have. And that carelessness, that mistake, caused your child’s injury. It’s not about being mean. It’s about not being careful enough.

Think of it like this, in four simple parts:

1. Duty of Care: Everyone has a duty of care. It’s like a rule that says people must act reasonably and safely. They must try to prevent harm to others. A driver has a duty to drive carefully. A store owner has a duty to keep their floors safe for shoppers. A doctor has a duty to provide good medical care. We all have duties to keep each other safe.
2. Breach of Duty: This refers to a situation where someone fails to fulfill their duty. They broke the rule. They were careless. The driver sped too fast. The store owner left a wet spot on the floor without a sign. The doctor made an error with the medication. They didn’t act the way a careful person should have.
3. Causation: This is super important. The carelessness must have directly caused your child’s injury. The speeding car hit your child, and that caused a broken leg. The wet floor made your child slip and hit their head. The doctor’s mistake led to a new health problem. There has to be a clear link.
4. Damages: Because of the injury, your child suffered harm. This is where we discuss the adverse events that occurred. It includes physical pain, medical bills, emotional problems, or long-term issues.

If we can prove all four of these parts, we can often win a case.

Who Can Be Held Responsible? (Identifying the Defendants)

This is a big question. Who is the person or company that was careless? Who should pay for your child’s injuries? It’s not always immediately apparent. However, finding the right person or group to hold responsible is integral to obtaining justice.

Here are some ordinary people or groups we might hold responsible:

• Drivers: If your child was in a car accident, the driver who caused the crash. This could be another driver. Sometimes, it could even be the driver of the car your child was in if they were careless.
• Property Owners: This could be a homeowner. It might be a store owner. Or a landlord. Even if the injury occurred on public property, such as a park or sidewalk, in a city or county, if the property owner failed to maintain their premises safely and your child was hurt, they could be held responsible.
• Manufacturers: If a toy or product was made dangerously or had a hidden defect, the company that made, designed, or sold it can be held responsible.
• Daycare Centers & Schools: If a child is hurt due to negligent supervision (insufficient adult supervision), unsafe conditions, or mistakes made by staff in a childcare setting or at school.
• Dog Owners: If a dog bites your child, the dog’s owner is usually responsible. They have a duty to control their pet.
• Doctors, Nurses, Hospitals: In cases of medical malpractice or birth injuries, the medical professionals or facilities whose mistakes caused harm.
• Even Other Adults: Any adult who was supervising your child and acted carelessly, leading to an injury.

Sometimes, there might be more than one person or company responsible. We investigate very carefully. We find everyone who should be held accountable. It’s essential to get it right.

What Evidence Do We Need to Win Your Child’s Injury Case?

To win a case, you need strong evidence. Think of it like building a house. You need good bricks. You need a strong foundation. For a legal case, the evidence is our bricks. It’s how we prove what happened.

• Medical Records (Very Important!): These are almost always a key piece of evidence. They are incredibly important. They show what happened to your child’s body. They tell their diagnosis. They show their treatment. They explain how they are recovering. We need all of them: hospital records, doctor’s notes, therapy records, lab results, X-rays, MRIs, scans. Medical records are a significant component of any child injury claim, as they provide evidence of the injury’s existence, cause, and severity. Medical records help demonstrate the injury because serious injuries often require medical treatment.
• Accident Reports & Police Reports: If the injury involved a car accident, a fall on public property, or a police investigation, these reports give key details about what happened. They often contain important information, such as who was involved, what the police observed, and sometimes the names of witnesses.
• Witness Statements: These are the words of people who witnessed the accident. Their accounts can be very powerful. What they saw or heard can make a massive difference in understanding the truth.
• Photos & Videos: Pictures of the accident scene (if it’s safe to take them). Pictures of your child’s injuries (from when they happened, as they heal, and even now). Pictures of the dangerous product. Pictures of the unsafe property. Videos are even better because they show things moving! Visual evidence can be incredibly helpful and persuasive.
• Surveillance Footage: Sometimes, cameras are watching! Stores, buildings, or even streetlights might have cameras that record what happened. We work very hard to get this footage because it can be powerful, undeniable evidence.
• Expert Witnesses: These are highly trained professionals. They don’t just guess. They utilize their specialized knowledge to help us understand complex aspects of the case. They help us prove what happened and why it matters.
  • Medical Experts: These are doctors, nurses, or other medical specialists. They help us understand your child’s injuries. They explain how those injuries happened. They inform us about the type of long-term care that will be required. They help prove what the responsible party did wrong medically. They are key.
  • Accident Reconstructionists: These experts are like detectives for accidents. They can determine exactly how a complex accident occurred, especially in large car crashes or falls. They use science to put the pieces together.
  • Life Care Planners: These experts are crucial for individuals with severe and life-altering injuries. They look at everything your child will need for the rest of their life. This includes ongoing medical care, therapies, special equipment (such as wheelchairs or braces), modifications to your home (like ramps), and any personal assistance they may need. They put a dollar amount on all these future needs.
  • Economists: These experts help calculate the total financial impact of the injury. This includes how much money your child might not be able to earn in the future if their injury affects their ability to work as an adult. They make sure we don’t miss any costs.

Gathering all this evidence is a tremendous job. It’s detailed work. It takes time. And, it takes knowing what to look for. It’s something we do for you. We handle all the complex parts.

What Does “Compensation” Really Cover for My Child’s Future?

When a child is injured, “damages” is the legal term for the compensation they can receive. This money is to cover all their losses and suffering. For a child, these “damages” can be very, very large. Why? Because their injury may impact their entire life. Not just today but for many, many years to come.

Here’s what that money covers:

• Past and Future Medical Expenses: This covers all the medical care your child has received to date. Think hospital bills, doctor visits, surgeries, and medicines from the day of the injury until now. But even more important, it covers all the medical care your child will need for the rest of their life. For children with severe injuries, like a serious brain injury or paralysis, these future costs can be millions of dollars. One study noted that average medical costs for a child with a severe injury can far exceed initial expenses, often requiring lifelong care.
• Pain & Suffering: This money is for your child’s physical pain. It’s for their emotional distress, their fear, and their anxiety as well as sadness. It’s for the overall psychological impact of the injury. It’s for the difficulty they face every single day because of what happened. This is a very real type of harm.
• Lost Earning Capacity: If your child’s injury is so severe that it will stop them from working or earning as much money as an adult, they can be paid for that lost future income. This looks far ahead into their adult life, projecting what they might have earned if they hadn’t been injured.
• Home Modifications & Special Equipment: If your child needs a wheelchair. Or ramps built into your home. A special bed. Changes to your bathroom. Or even a special van to help them get around. These are huge costs, and they are included in damages.
• Therapies: Physical therapy to help them move better. Occupational therapy to help with daily tasks. Speech therapy to help them talk. Psychological counseling to help with emotional pain. These therapies are often needed for many years, sometimes for the rest of their lives.
• Special Education & Care: If the injury affects your child’s ability to learn, they might need special education classes, private tutors, or even personal aides to help them at school or at home. This ensures they still get the best education possible.
• Loss of Enjoyment of Life: This refers to how the injury affects your child’s ability to participate in their hobbies. To play sports. To join in social activities. It’s for the everyday joys of childhood and life that they might miss out on because of their injury. It’s a very real loss.

We collaborate with experts, including life care planners and economists. They help us calculate these damages with great care. This ensures your child receives everything they need for their future, not just what’s readily visible at present.

How Does My Child’s Lawsuit Work?

Going to court can sound scary. You might see it on TV. However, most cases don’t actually proceed to a full trial before a judge and jury. Around 95% of personal injury cases in the U.S. are settled without going to trial. This means about 95 out of every 100 cases are resolved outside of court.  In our experience, the percentage for child injury settlements is even higher.

Here’s a simple summary of how the process usually works when we fight for your child:

1. Investigation: First, we gather all the evidence. We investigate what happened. We find out who was responsible. We figure out what harm your child suffered. We piece together the whole story.
2. Filing a Complaint (Lawsuit): If we can’t settle the case quickly, we file a formal document with the court. In many jurisdictions, this is referred to as a “complaint.” This officially starts the lawsuit. It lets the court know we are seeking justice for your child.
3. Discovery: This is a substantial and time-consuming part. Both sides in the case gather more information from each other. We might ask for more documents. We may send written questions called “interrogatories.” We might ask people questions under oath (called “depositions”). This is where we gather all the information about the case. It’s a very thorough process.
4. Mediation/Negotiation: Often, after gathering extensive information through Discovery, both sides attempt to settle the case outside of court. This may occur through direct negotiations between lawyers. Or it might happen in “mediation,” where a neutral person (sometimes a retired judge) helps everyone try to agree on a fair amount of money. Settlement negotiations often happen early but can be revisited throughout the process. Some cases settle here.
5. Trial (If Necessary): If we simply cannot reach a fair settlement outside of court, then we go to trial. This is where we present your child’s case to a judge and jury. They listen to all the evidence. They hear from witnesses. Then, they decide who is at fault and how much money should be paid. The team at Child & Birth Injury Lawyers is always prepared for trial if that’s what it takes to secure justice for your child. We prepare every case as if it’s going to trial.

How Much Time Do You Have to Start Your Child’s Lawsuit?

This is a very, very critical point: there are time limits for filing lawsuits. These are referred to as “Statutes of Limitations.” If you wait too long, you could lose your right to bring a claim, no matter how strong your case is. It’s like a deadline.

• The statute of limitations varies depending on the venue, but it is generally shorter for adults than for children.
• In child injury cases, the statute of limitations can vary widely. Many states have a special rule called “tolling” that applies to the statute of limitations for minors. “Tolling” usually means the clock stops or doesn’t start running until the child turns 18 years old, but many states give a shorter extension. So, a child might have until their 19th, 20th, or even 21st birthday to file a lawsuit, depending on the state where the injury happened. This gives more time because children can’t legally make decisions about lawsuits on their own.
• HOWEVER, acting early is ALWAYS critical. Even though the law might give more time, waiting is a bad idea. Evidence gets lost. Witnesses forget details or move away. Medical records become harder to get. The sooner you talk to us at The Child & Birth Injury Lawyers, the better. We can start gathering evidence immediately.

If your child has been injured, please call our team at Child & Birth Injury Lawyers. Don’t let precious time slip by. We can explain the specific time limits applicable to your case in your state and begin building a strong defense for your child immediately.

What Will Your Child’s Life Look Like After a Big Injury?

When your child is injured, the problems often go far beyond just the initial pain and the first visit to the emergency room. A serious injury can change everything. It’s not just a physical hurt. It touches every aspect of a child’s life – their learning, play, feelings, and even their future careers. This is what we refer to as the “lifelong impact.” At Child & Birth Injury Lawyers, we have witnessed the profound impact these injuries have on families. It’s a very long journey, and it’s why we fight so hard for proper compensation.

More Than Just a Physical Hurt: The Long Journey of Healing

When a child’s body is hurt, it’s terrible. There are surgeries. There is pain. There are stitches. However, for serious injuries, the physical aspect often means a long and arduous road to recovery. Sometimes, it means never truly healing back to normal.

• Ongoing Medical Needs: For a severe injury, medical care doesn’t end after the hospital visit. It can mean years, or even a lifetime, of follow-up doctor visits. They might need many more surgeries. They’ll likely need special medicines. All of this costs money, year after year. For example, a child with a severe burn might need many reconstructive surgeries as they grow, costing thousands of dollars over many years. These are often not just one-time procedures; they’re repeated as the child grows and their body changes. This can span decades, necessitating ongoing monitoring and interventions.
• Intensive Therapies: Physical therapy to help them regain the ability to walk or move again. Occupational therapy helps individuals perform everyday tasks, such as brushing their teeth or getting dressed. Speech therapy is recommended for individuals who experience difficulty with speaking or swallowing. These aren’t short-term things. Kids with severe brain injuries might need these therapies for their whole childhood or even their whole life. Intense rehabilitation for a child with a spinal cord injury can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in the first year alone, with ongoing costs for equipment and care. It’s a daily commitment, often requiring multiple sessions each week, year after year.
• Special Equipment: If an injury is severe, a child may require specialized equipment. This could include a wheelchair, braces, crutches, a special bed, or even machines to assist with breathing or eating. These items are often very expensive and tend to wear out, necessitating frequent replacements. For families caring for a child with a severe disability, adaptive equipment can add tens of thousands of dollars to annual expenses. This isn’t a luxury; it’s essential for their basic needs and mobility.
• Home and Vehicle Modifications: When a child’s mobility is limited, their home may require significant changes. Wider doorways. Ramps to facilitate wheelchair navigation. A special bathroom that is easy to use. These modifications are very expensive.  These critical changes can cost a family tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of dollars. These are not optional expenses; they are necessary for daily living.

How Will This Injury Affect Your Child’s Heart and Mind?

A physical injury hurts the body, but it also hurts the heart and mind. Children, especially, can struggle to understand why something bad has happened. They might get very scared. They might become sad or angry. This is called emotional or psychological trauma. It’s often an invisible wound, but it can be just as devastating as a broken bone.

• Fear and Anxiety: Children might develop a fear of the place where they were hurt or of certain things (like cars after a car accident or dogs after an attack). They might become anxious about going to school, leaving their parents, or trying new things. This anxiety can be constant, affecting their sleep, appetite, and general happiness.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Just like soldiers returning from war, children who go through very scary, life-threatening events can get PTSD. They might have nightmares, sudden flashbacks where they relive the event, or try to avoid anything that reminds them of the accident. This can make them act differently, becoming irritable, withdrawn, or hyper-vigilant. Studies show that up to 43% of children and teens experience at least one trauma, and a significant number of those who experience severe physical trauma (like a major accident or burn) develop PTSD.
• Depression and Sadness: A child might feel very sad, especially if their injury stops them from doing things they used to love, like playing sports, dancing, or running with friends. They might withdraw from family and friends, lose interest in hobbies, and struggle with feelings of helplessness or hopelessness. This sadness can be very deep.
• Impact on Parents: Parents also suffer deeply. They might feel guilty (“Could I have prevented this?”), angry, or constantly worried about their child’s pain and future. This can lead to severe stress, anxiety, and depression for parents. It takes a significant toll on the whole family’s emotional well-being. The constant worry about your child’s future, the endless appointments, the financial strain—it can be overwhelming. Some studies even compare the emotional toll on parents of severely injured children to that of combat veterans.
• Sibling Impact: Brothers and sisters of an injured child often experience emotional challenges. They might feel overlooked as parental attention shifts, feel confused, or even act out. Maintaining a sense of normalcy for the whole family becomes incredibly hard.

How Will Your Child’s Injury Change Their School Days?

A serious injury, especially a brain injury or a physical disability, can make learning very difficult for a child. School, which should be a place of fun and easy learning, can become a real struggle.

• Cognitive Difficulties: This refers to difficulties with thinking, remembering new information, focusing attention, solving problems, or understanding instructions. A child might need more time to grasp concepts. They might forget lessons quickly. This impacts every subject.
• Special Education Needs: Many children with serious injuries require additional school support. This could mean having special teachers, smaller classrooms, different learning approaches, or even one-on-one aides. They often require an Individualized Education Program (IEP), a legal document that outlines their special needs. This can involve extra costs for tutors or specialized schools if the public school system can’t provide enough support or if their specific needs are very high.
• Social Difficulties: Injuries can also impact a child’s ability to get along with others. They may struggle to make friends if their physical abilities are limited, if their communication is impaired, or if their brain injury alters their behavior. This can lead to feelings of loneliness, isolation, and challenges with self-esteem.

How Will Your Family Pay for a Child’s Lifetime of Injury Costs?

This is often the most challenging part for families. The money needed for a child with a serious injury can be staggering. It’s a monumental burden that can last a lifetime, pushing families into deep financial hardship.

• Lifetime Care Costs: For severe, permanent injuries, the total cost of care over a child’s lifetime can be enormous. We’re talking millions, not thousands. For instance, the lifetime cost for a child with cerebral palsy (often from a birth injury or severe brain injury) can far exceed $15.6 million (in 2025 dollars). For a severe spinal cord injury, the average lifetime costs can range from $1.1 million for paraplegia to over $50 million for high quadriplegia (affecting breathing), depending on the severity and age of onset. These numbers are truly eye-opening and highlight the immense financial need.
• Lost Parental Income: Sadly, almost one in four parents of children with special health care needs reduce their work hours or leave their jobs entirely to provide full-time care for their child. This means less money coming into the family just when expenses are soaring. This loss of income, combined with rising medical bills, can push families into deep financial distress. It’s a sacrifice parents make out of love, but someone else’s negligence shouldn’t force it.
• Indirect Costs: Beyond direct medical bills, there are numerous hidden costs. This includes things like:
  • Special diets or nutritional supplements.
  • Home health aides or personal care attendants.
  • Increased utility bills for medical equipment.
  • Lost opportunities for family vacations or activities.
  • The cost of legal and financial planning for a special needs trust to manage compensation.

The lifelong impact of a child’s injury is real. It’s deep. It’s expensive. And if someone else’s carelessness caused that injury, your child deserves full and fair compensation to cover all these costs and give them the best possible future.

Call Jeff Killino and his experienced team today. We are here to fight for every single one of these costs.

Specific Types of Child Injury Cases We Handle

As Child & Birth Injury Lawyers, we understand the many ways children can be hurt. Every injury is unique, but certain types of harm are especially serious for children and require very specialized legal knowledge. We focus on these critical areas because we understand the science, medicine, and legal strategies necessary to win.

Can a Brain Injury Change Your Child’s Future Forever?

When a child’s brain is hurt, it is one of the most serious injuries possible. The brain controls everything: thoughts, feelings, movements, talking, learning. Damage to a young brain can have a profoundly significant impact on a child’s entire future.

• What They Are:
  • Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI): This occurs when a sudden bump, blow, or jolt to the head causes the brain to move violently inside the skull. Or an object could go through the skull. It can be from a car accident, a fall, sports, or abuse. The brain literally gets shaken or damaged.
  • Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE): This is a very specific type of brain injury, often seen in babies. It occurs when a baby’s brain doesn’t receive enough oxygen or blood flow, typically during the birth process. This can be due to problems during labor or delivery, like a tangled umbilical cord, placental issues, or a delay in C-section. It’s a devastating birth injury.
• Why It’s So Serious for Kids: A child’s brain is still growing and developing at an incredible speed. An injury can disrupt this delicate process, changing pathways and connections. The younger the child, the more devastating the long-term effects can be, as critical brain development stages are often interrupted.
• Causes: Common causes include falls (especially for toddlers), car accidents, sports injuries (like concussions), child abuse (like shaken baby syndrome), and medical malpractice (especially HIE at birth).
• Statistics on Brain Injuries:
  • TBIs are a leading cause of death and disability in children and young adults.
  • Roughly 175 children (aged 0-17) are hospitalized every day for a TBI. That’s over 63,000 child hospitalizations each year for brain injuries.
  • Falls are the leading cause of TBI among children aged 0–4 years, accounting for nearly 50% of TBI-related emergency room visits in this age group.
  • Being struck by or against an object (like in sports or playground incidents) is the leading cause of TBI among children aged 5–14 years.
  • The lifetime cost of care for a single child with a severe TBI can easily reach $30 – $50 million.
• Diagnosis and Treatment: Diagnosing TBI can involve CT scans, MRIs, and neurological exams. Treatment focuses on stabilizing the child, reducing brain swelling, and then intensive rehabilitation. For HIE, therapeutic hypothermia (cooling the baby) is a critical early treatment.
• Long-Term Impact: Even “mild” TBIs (concussions) need careful watching. Repeated concussions are very dangerous. More severe brain injuries can lead to:
  • Cognitive problems: Trouble with memory, attention, problem-solving, learning in school, difficulty with executive functions (planning, organizing).
  • Physical challenges: Problems with balance, coordination, weakness, spasticity, or even paralysis.
  • Emotional and behavioral changes: Mood swings, anger, frustration, irritability, anxiety, depression, impulse control issues, and personality changes.
  • Seizures: Some children develop epilepsy after a TBI, requiring lifelong medication.
  • Lifelong care: Many children with severe brain injuries will need extensive therapy (physical, occupational, speech), special education, and assistance for their entire lives, often requiring round-the-clock care.

Could a Back Injury Affect My Child’s Whole Body?

The spinal cord is like the superhighway that connects your brain to the rest of your body. It sends messages back and forth. If it becomes damaged, those messages cannot be transmitted, which can affect movement, sensation, and bodily functions below the injury site.

• What It Is: Damage to the spinal cord itself or the nerves branching from it. This can cause paralysis and loss of sensation, affecting vital body functions such as breathing, bladder control, and bowel control.
• Causes: For children, SCIs are often caused by violent impacts. The main culprits are car accidents (especially if not properly restrained or if involved in severe collisions), followed by falls (from significant heights), sports injuries (like diving accidents), and occasionally birth trauma (especially in difficult breech deliveries where excessive traction is applied).
• Statistics: Thankfully, SCIs are less common in children than adults, but they are still devastating.
  • Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of SCIs in children, accounting for over 50% of pediatric SCIs.
  • In the U.S., roughly 200 children under the age of 15 sustain a spinal cord injury each year. This number might seem small, but the impact is immense.
• Diagnosis and Treatment: Diagnosis involves neurological exams, X-rays, CT scans, and MRIs. Treatment focuses on immediate stabilization, surgery to relieve pressure or fuse vertebrae, and then intensive, lifelong rehabilitation.
• Long-Term Impact: The effects of a spinal cord injury (SCI) depend on the location of the injury on the spine and the extent of the damage.
  • Quadriplegia (Tetraplegia): Paralysis affecting all four limbs (arms and legs), often also affecting breathing, speech, and bowel/bladder control. High cervical injuries can be life-threatening.
  • Paraplegia: Paralysis affecting the lower body (legs and sometimes torso), impacting mobility and sensation below the chest.
  • Children with SCIs will need extensive medical care, specialized equipment (like power wheelchairs, ventilators, and adaptive technology), and various therapies (physical, occupational, speech, and recreational) for their entire lives. The average lifetime cost for a high-level SCI can exceed $50 million, and even lower-level injuries average over $30 million.

What Happens When a Child Breaks a Bone Badly?

Broken bones are a common occurrence in childhood. Kids are active! But some fractures are much more serious, especially if they are caused by great force, occur in multiple places, or affect growth plates. Orthopedic injuries encompass a wide range of problems affecting bones, joints, muscles, ligaments, and tendons.

• What They Are: A fracture is a break in a bone. Orthopedic injuries encompass a wider range of damage to the musculoskeletal system.
• Common types include arm fractures (wrist, forearm, elbow), leg fractures (tibia, fibula, femur), collarbone fractures, and occasionally, skull fractures. Sprains (ligament injuries), strains (muscle/tendon injuries), and dislocations are also common.
• Causes: Falls are the most common reason, accounting for over 50% of all child fractures. Sports injuries (e.g., football, soccer, gymnastics), bicycle accidents, car accidents, and playground accidents are also frequent causes. Child abuse can also, unfortunately, be a cause of severe fractures in young children.
• Statistics:
  • Fractures are the most common type of injury in children, with one in four children experiencing at least one fracture before age 18.
  • In 2021, over 1.6 million children aged 14 and younger were treated in emergency departments for musculoskeletal injuries.
• Diagnosis and Treatment: Diagnosis involves physical examination and X-rays. Treatment includes immobilization (such as casts or splints), sometimes surgery (to set bones with pins, plates, or screws), and then rehabilitation (physical therapy) to regain strength and range of motion.
• Impact on Growth: This is the critical difference for children. Many fractures occur near growth plates, which are areas of cartilage at the ends of long bones where bone growth occurs. If a growth plate is damaged, it can cause the bone to grow unevenly, stop growing, or grow crooked. This can lead to lifelong limb length differences, angular deformities, or other orthopedic issues that require multiple surgeries as the child grows.
• Long-Term Outlook: While many broken bones heal well, severe or growth plate-related fractures can lead to long-term pain, weakness, limited range of motion, chronic arthritis, or a need for future surgeries. They can impact a child’s ability to participate fully in sports or everyday activities.

What Happens When a Child Suffers a Serious Burn?

Burns are incredibly painful and terrifying injuries to the skin and deeper tissues caused by heat, chemicals, electricity, or even severe friction. For children, burns are particularly devastating and can leave permanent scars, both visible and invisible.

• What They Are: Damage to tissue caused by heat (flame, hot liquid/steam, hot objects), chemicals, electricity, or radiation. They are classified by “degree” based on their depth.
  • First-degree: Only the top layer of skin (like a mild sunburn).
  • Second-degree: Deeper, causes blisters, very painful.
  • Third-degree: Deepest, destroys all layers of skin, often looks white or charred, and can destroy nerve endings (so sometimes less initial pain). These are life-threatening.
• Causes:
  • Scald burns (hot liquids/steam): The most common burn type for young children. Think spilled hot coffee, pulling a hot pot off the stove, or bathwater that’s too hot. Just a few seconds of exposure can cause a severe burn on a thin child’s skin.
  • Contact burns: Touching hot objects, such as stoves, irons, or space heaters.
  • Flame burns: From fires, matches, lighters, house fires.
  • Chemical burns: From strong cleaning products and batteries.
  • Electrical burns: From outlets, frayed cords, and downed power lines.
• Statistics:
  • Burns are a leading cause of accidental death and injury in children under 14 years old [American Burn Association – Burn Stats].
  • About 600,000 children aged 0-19 are treated in emergency departments for burn-related injuries each year.
  • Scald burns cause 68% of all burns in children under 5, highlighting a specific danger for toddlers.
  • Tragically, around 300 children aged 0-19 die from burns each year..
• Diagnosis and Treatment: Diagnosis involves a visual examination and specialized care in a burn unit. Treatment can include cleaning the wound, applying dressings, managing pain, and, in severe cases, skin grafts, where healthy skin is taken from one part of the body to cover the burned area.
• Long-Term Impact: Severe burns require immediate, specialized medical care.
  • Multiple surgeries: Children with severe burns often need many skin graft surgeries as they grow, as scar tissue doesn’t stretch like normal skin. This can mean dozens of painful operations over a child’s lifetime.
  • Permanent scarring: Burns can leave disfiguring scars that cause lifelong physical limitations, such as those that cross joints, affect movement, or impact facial features.
  • Emotional and psychological trauma: Children may struggle with body image issues, anxiety, depression, and PTSD due to the pain, disfigurement, and the traumatic event itself. This can significantly impact their social development and self-esteem.

Can Drowning Change a Child’s Life Forever?

These are incredibly tragic and often silent events. Fatal drowning is when someone dies from being underwater. Non-fatal drowning is when someone survives but suffers injuries, most often brain damage, because they didn’t get enough oxygen.

• What They Are: Both involve suffocation due to being submerged in a liquid.
• Causes: Often occurs in swimming pools, bathtubs, buckets, toilets, hot tubs, or natural bodies of water, such as lakes and rivers. Inadequate supervision, unfenced pools, or faulty pool drains are common factors.
• Statistics:
  • Drowning is the leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for children aged 1-4 years. It’s shocking how quickly and silently it can happen, often with adults nearby.
  • For children aged 5-14 years, drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury death.
  • For every child who dies from drowning, another eight children receive emergency department care for nonfatal drowning. This means near-drowning incidents are much more common than fatal ones.
  • A significant percentage of near-drowning victims suffer permanent, severe brain damage due to lack of oxygen to the brain. This can lead to lifelong disabilities like cerebral palsy, severe cognitive impairments, and a persistent vegetative state.
• The Silent Nature: Unlike what’s often shown in movies, drowning Does not usually involve splashing or yelling. It’s often silent and quick. This is why constant, active supervision is absolutely vital around any body of water, even one that is only a few inches deep.
• Diagnosis and Treatment: Immediate CPR and emergency medical intervention are crucial. For near-drowning/nonfatal drowning, treatment focuses on oxygenation, preventing further brain damage, and then extensive neurological rehabilitation.
• Long-Term Impact: For near-drowning survivors, the impact is often catastrophic brain damage, requiring total care for life, extensive therapies, and specialized equipment. The lifetime costs can be in the millions.

Who Is Responsible When a Dog Bites Your Child?

Dogs are often beloved family pets, but any dog, even a friendly one, can bite or attack, especially a child. Children are most vulnerable because they are smaller and may not understand how to interact with animals safely, and their faces are often at a dog’s eye level.

• What They Are: Injuries caused by a dog biting, scratching, or attacking a child.
• Severity: Dog bites can cause serious injuries: deep puncture wounds, torn skin, severe infections (like cellulitis or rabies if the animal is not vaccinated), nerve damage, and permanent scarring. Facial injuries are particularly devastating for children due to their small size and the emotional impact of disfigurement.
• Statistics:
  • About 4.5 million dog bites occur each year in the United States, and children are the most common victims.
  • Children aged 5-9 years are at the highest risk for dog bites.
  • Alarmingly, over half of dog bite injuries in children occur on the head and neck. This highlights the extreme danger and potential for facial disfigurement.
  • Every year, over 1,000 children are hospitalized due to dog bite injuries.
• Diagnosis and Treatment: Treatment typically involves wound cleaning, sutures, antibiotics to prevent infection, and, in some cases, surgery for severe lacerations or nerve damage. Plastic surgery may be needed for disfiguring scars.
• Long-Term Impact: Beyond physical scars, dog bites can cause deep emotional and psychological trauma for children, leading to intense fear of dogs, nightmares, anxiety, and even PTSD. This can affect their social interactions, school attendance, and overall well-being for years.

When Sickness Turns Serious: Who Is Responsible?

While seemingly less direct than a physical accident, severe illness can result from a negligent failure to prevent the spread of contagious diseases, particularly in environments like daycares, schools, or other care facilities.

• What It Is: A child contracts a serious, contagious illness (e.g., certain severe viral infections, bacterial infections, or foodborne illnesses) due to the failure of a caregiver, school, or facility to follow health protocols, resulting in severe complications.
• Causes: Negligence may include failure to maintain proper hygiene (e.g., inadequate handwashing protocols for staff or children), failure to isolate sick children, failure to properly clean and sanitize facilities, failure to notify parents of exposure to a contagious disease, or unsafe food handling practices that lead to outbreaks.
• Statistics: Although often not directly linked to individual lawsuits, the negligent spread of illness can have far-reaching impacts. For example, foodborne illnesses (a form of negligent spread) cause millions of illnesses annually, with young children being especially vulnerable to severe complications like kidney failure. Outbreaks of serious viral illnesses can occur in childcare settings when protocols are lax, leading to widespread sickness and potentially severe outcomes for vulnerable children.
• Long-Term Impact: While many illnesses resolve, some can lead to severe and lasting complications like brain damage (e.g., from certain types of meningitis), kidney failure, severe dehydration, or long-term chronic conditions. In cases of apparent negligence resulting in a severe, preventable illness, a claim may be possible.

Did a Daycare Accident Hurt Your Child?

Parents place immense trust in daycare centers and childcare providers. We drop off our little ones, often with a heavy heart but a firm belief that they will be safe, cared for, and watched carefully. However, sadly, accidents and injuries can occur in daycares due to carelessness or a failure to follow crucial safety protocols. For the team at The Child Injury Firm, it’s heartbreaking to see that trust broken.

• What It Is: An injury to a child that happens while they are at a daycare, preschool, or with any childcare provider because the caregiver was negligent or didn’t follow important safety rules. These aren’t just minor scrapes; we’re talking about serious harm that could have and should have, been prevented.
• Causes: Common causes include:
  • Not Watching Closely Enough (Inadequate Supervision): This is a very common and critical problem. It could be too many children for too few adults, or adults not paying full attention to the kids. When supervision is lacking, a child might wander off, get into something dangerous, fall from playground equipment, or get hurt by another child. In fact, inadequate supervision is one of the most frequently cited violations in daycare inspections.
  • Unsafe Play Areas: Playgrounds at daycares need to be safe. If they have broken equipment, hard surfaces under swings or slides instead of soft materials (like wood chips or rubber), or are not properly maintained, children can get seriously hurt. Falls are a leading cause of injuries in daycare centers, often from playground structures.
  • Hidden Dangers: Sometimes, hazards are left out in plain sight or not properly secured. This includes items such as cleaning supplies, exposed electrical outlets, unsecured furniture that can tip over, and small objects that pose choking hazards to young children.
  • Staff Mistakes: This could involve staff members who are not adequately trained, have a poor attitude toward children, or make mistakes such as administering the wrong medication or failing to respond promptly to an emergency, like an allergic reaction. A lack of proper training for childcare staff can lead to higher rates of injury.
• Statistics: While exact national numbers for daycare injuries can be challenging to track consistently across all states, reports from state licensing agencies and advocacy groups show significant concerns. For example, a 2022 analysis in New York City found that one in ten daycare facilities had serious violations during routine inspections. These violations included failing background checks on staff and improper child-to-staff ratios. Child Care Aware of America’s analysis has found that maintaining required staff-to-child ratios is crucial for safety, and violations can lead to neglect and increased risk of accidents. Studies also indicate that children aged 2-5 who attend childcare centers may be at increased odds of injury compared to those cared for at home. Sadly, about half of daycare injury cases involve neglect, which can lead directly to injuries.
• Long-Term Impact: Injuries sustained in daycare can range from concussions, broken bones, amputations, and severe cuts, to more severe harm if a child is left unattended or exposed to serious hazards (like a child wandering off and drowning). Beyond physical injuries, profound emotional trauma can occur if a child experiences neglect, abuse, or is hurt due to a caregiver’s failure to protect them. These emotional scars can significantly impact a child’s development, trust, and overall well-being for many years.

If your child was seriously hurt at a daycare, and you believe it was due to someone else’s carelessness or a safety rule being broken, you have rights. The daycare has a big responsibility for your child’s safety. Please call our team at The Child & Birth Injury Lawyers immediately. We can investigate what happened and help your family seek justice.

Was Your Child Hurt in a Traffic Accident?

Traffic accidents are a really big danger for children, and they are incredibly scary for parents. These accidents can occur in various ways – when a child is riding inside a car, riding a bike, or even just walking near a road. When a driver is careless, children are often the ones who suffer the most severe injuries.

• What It Is: An injury to a child that happens because of a motor vehicle (like a car, truck, or motorcycle) accident. This includes situations where children are passengers in a vehicle, riding a bicycle, or walking near traffic as pedestrians. These are often very violent impacts, and children’s smaller bodies are simply not as strong as adults’ to withstand them.
• Causes: Most often, these accidents happen because a driver is negligent. This means they are not being careful enough on the road. This could be due to:
  • Distracted driving: The driver was texting, talking on the phone, eating, or not paying attention to the road. Distracted driving is a huge problem, contributing to thousands of deaths and injuries each year.
  • Speeding: Driving too fast for the road conditions, making it harder to stop or react in time to avoid a child.
  • Drunk or Drugged Driving: Driving when they are impaired by alcohol or drugs, which severely affects their ability to drive safely.
  • Not Seeing a Child: Children are smaller and can be harder to spot, especially if they are on a bike or walking near a busy street. Drivers have a special duty to exercise extra caution in areas where children may be present, such as schools, parks, and residential neighborhoods.
  • Car Seat or Booster Seat Mistakes: Even when a child is inside a car, if their car seat or booster seat is not installed correctly, or if they are not buckled in properly, they can be badly hurt in a crash. For instance, 46% of car seats are used incorrectly, meaning they aren’t providing the full protection they should..
• Statistics: Traffic accidents are the leading cause of death for children and adolescents (ages 1-19 years) in the U.S. This is a heartbreaking statistic, surpassing even firearm injuries.
  • According to a recent study, in one year over 660 children aged 12 and under died in traffic crashes, and more than 100,000 were injured. These numbers include children riding in cars, on bikes, or walking near roads.
  • For child pedestrians (children walking), thousands are injured or killed each year, often due to distracted or careless drivers. Pedestrian injuries are the second leading cause of injury-related death among children aged 5-9 years.
  • Bicycle accidents involving vehicles also send over 100,000 children to the emergency room each year.
• Long-Term Impact: Child traffic accidents can lead to all sorts of very serious injuries. These include severe traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries (sometimes causing paralysis), multiple broken bones, internal organ damage, severe burns from car fires, and profound emotional trauma (like PTSD, anxiety, and fear of cars). These injuries often require extensive, lifelong medical care, rehabilitation, and specialized equipment and can lead to permanent disabilities that deeply impact a child’s education, social life, and future.

If your child was hurt in a car accident, a bike accident, or as a pedestrian, and another driver was at fault, you need our team who understands how to prove that fault and fight for your child’s complex needs. Please call our team at The Child & Birth Injury Lawyers immediately. We are here to help your family navigate this difficult road.

Did a Hospital Mistake Hurt Your Child? (Children’s Hospital Malpractice)

When a child is sick or hurt and needs to go to the hospital, we trust doctors, nurses, and the entire hospital team completely. We expect them to know exactly what to do and to be very careful. However, even in a trusted hospital, mistakes can sometimes occur. When a hospital, or its staff (like nurses or technicians), makes a careless mistake that harms your child, it’s a serious form of medical malpractice.

• What It Is: An injury or a worsening of a child’s health condition that happens because a doctor, nurse, hospital, or other medical staff member made a mistake while treating them. This mistake should not have occurred if they had followed the proper rules and accepted standards of medical care. This is more than just a bad outcome; it’s a preventable error.
• Causes: This can include a wide range of mistakes made in the hospital setting:
  • Wrong Diagnosis or Delayed Diagnosis: A doctor might miss a serious illness (like cancer, appendicitis, or a severe infection like meningitis) or say it’s something else, so the child doesn’t get the right treatment in time. Delays can be deadly.
  • Medication Errors: This is a big problem in hospitals. Giving the wrong medicine, the wrong amount (dose), giving medicine at the wrong time, or giving medicine to the wrong child. Alarmingly, pediatric patients are three times more likely to experience a medication error in a hospital compared to adults. Many of these errors are preventable.
  • Nursing Errors: Nurses may fail to monitor a child closely enough, neglect to call a doctor when a child’s condition worsens, or improperly follow a doctor’s orders.
  • Surgical Mistakes: Errors made during an operation, like injuring a healthy organ, leaving something inside the body, or operating on the wrong part of the body.
  • Hospital Infections: A child getting a serious infection while in the hospital that could have been prevented if proper hygiene and sterilization rules were followed.
  • Equipment Malfunctions: Injuries caused by medical equipment that is faulty or not used correctly.
• Statistics: Medical errors are a significant concern across healthcare systems. While precise statistics on child hospital malpractice are complex, the overall rate of hospital errors is high. It’s estimated that one in three hospitalized children is affected by a medical error. Many medical errors are never officially reported.
• Long-Term Impact: The harm from child hospital malpractice can be devastating and often leads to more severe consequences than the original illness. It can lead to prolonged illness, permanent disability (like brain damage from a missed infection or delayed treatment), severe organ damage, the need for more surgeries, severe developmental delays, or even wrongful death. These cases are very complex. They need lawyers who understand both complex medical procedures and detailed legal requirements.

If your child was seriously harmed because of a mistake made by a hospital or its staff, you need a child injury team of lawyers who understand both complex medical care and the strict legal rules for hospitals. Please call The Child & Birth Injury Lawyers immediately. We are here to fight for your child’s rights.

Was Your Child Hurt by a Dangerous Toy or Choking Hazard?

Toys are for fun and learning! They’re supposed to bring joy to children. However, some toys are designed poorly, manufactured incorrectly, or contain small parts that pose a significant danger to young children. Choking, whether on a toy or food, is a terrifying risk for young children because they explore by putting everything in their mouths.

• What It Is: An injury (often severe) caused by a toy that is dangerous (defective) or by a child choking on a small toy part or another object.
• Causes:
  • Small Parts & Choking Hazards: This is a huge concern. Toys intended for older children (often labeled 3+ years) may have small pieces that break off easily or are designed to be small; however, young children usually find them and put them in their mouths. Choking is a leading cause of injury for children under 4. Tragically, a child dies from choking on food every five days in the U.S., and small toy parts or other household items are also major non-food hazards.
  • Toy Defects (Beyond Small Parts): The toy itself may be poorly made and break easily, have sharp edges that can cut, contain toxic materials (such as lead paint), or be unstable (like a ride-on toy that flips easily or a building block set that collapses).
  • Improper Use/Supervision: Even safe toys can become dangerous if children aren’t closely supervised or if older children’s toys are left where little ones can easily reach them.
  • Nursery Product Hazards: This extends beyond toys to items such as cribs, strollers, high chairs, and changing tables. Unsafe nursery products cause one in three injury deaths among children under 1 year of age.
• Statistics: In 2022, there were an estimated 209,500 toy-related injuries treated in U.S. hospital emergency departments. These injuries range from minor cuts to severe choking incidents or broken bones. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) frequently issues recalls for toys and children’s products due to choking hazards, fire risks, or other safety concerns.
• Long-Term Impact: Choking, if not immediately relieved, can cause rapid oxygen loss to the brain, leading to severe and permanent brain damage, severe learning difficulties, or even death. Injuries from dangerous or defective toys can also include deep cuts requiring stitches and plastic surgery, broken bones, severe burns (e.g., from faulty electronics in toys), or concussions. If a toy company designed or manufactured a dangerous product, or a caregiver failed to watch closely enough, they can be held responsible for the harm caused.

If your child was seriously hurt by a dangerous toy or choked on an object due to someone else’s carelessness, please call our team of Child & Birth Injury Lawyers immediately. We can help you hold the responsible parties accountable.

What is a Child Death Claim?

This is one of the most heartbreaking and unimaginable situations any parent could ever face. When a child dies because of someone else’s carelessness, reckless actions, or intentional wrongdoing, it is called a “wrongful death.” The Child & Birth Injury Lawyers handle these cases with immense compassion and dedication.

• What It Is: A legal claim brought by the parents or guardians of a child who has passed away. It seeks to hold the person, company, or organization responsible for the child’s death accountable. It’s about seeking justice for a life cut tragically short.
• Causes: A wrongful death claim can arise from any of the severe accidents and injuries we’ve already discussed. When the injury is so severe, or the negligence so profound, it can lead to the ultimate tragedy. This includes:
  • Fatal Traffic Accidents: Car crashes are the leading cause of death for children and adolescents (ages 1-19 years) in the U.S. Distracted driving, speeding, or drunk driving often lead to these devastating outcomes.
  • Drowning Incidents: Drowning is the leading cause of unintentional death for children aged 1-4 years. Unfenced pools, inadequate supervision, or faulty pool drains can lead to these silent tragedies.
  • Firearm Injuries: Sadly, firearms are now the leading cause of death for children and adolescents (ages 1-19) in the U.S. Many accidental shootings by children are due to unsecured guns.
  • Severe Product Defects: When dangerous products, like unstable furniture or defective toys, cause fatal injuries. Furniture tip-overs cause a child’s death about every two weeks.
  • Catastrophic Burns: Severe burns, especially third-degree burns, can be fatal. Tragically, around 300 children aged 0-19 die from burns each year.
  • Medical Malpractice: Mistakes by doctors, nurses, or hospitals (like a missed diagnosis or medication error) can lead to a child’s death.
  • Child Abuse or Neglect: When intentional harm or severe neglect leads to a child’s fatality. In 2022, an estimated 1,990 children died from abuse and neglect in the U.S.
• Statistics: More than 12,000 children die from unintentional injuries each year in the U.S. Each one of these is a wrongful death caused by preventable circumstances. The specific causes vary by age, but all are tragic losses due to someone else’s fault.
• Long-Term Impact: The loss of a child is the most unimaginable pain a parent can endure. While no amount of money can ever bring back a child, a wrongful death claim seeks to hold the responsible parties accountable. It can provide financial support for immense losses like funeral expenses, medical bills incurred before death, the profound emotional suffering and grief of the family, and compensation for the loss of your child’s companionship, comfort, and future contributions to the family. Our experienced team handles these heartbreaking cases with immense compassion and fierce dedication.

If your child has passed away due to someone else’s negligence or wrongdoing, please know that you do not have to face this alone. Call our child injury team today for a confidential consultation. We are here to fight for justice for your precious child.

Your Child’s Future: Our Pledge to Your Family

Seeing your child hurt is a parent’s worst nightmare. The pain, the worry, the uncertainty about their future – it’s an overwhelming burden. But in that moment of crisis, remember this: you are not alone, and help is available.

Child & Birth Injury Lawyers understand the profound impact a serious injury has, not just on a child but on the entire family. We’ve seen the silent suffering, the financial strain, and the desperate need for answers and support.

We believe that every child deserves a chance at a full and happy life, even after a devastating injury caused by someone else’s mistake. We believe those responsible should be held accountable. And we believe that families should never have to bear the crushing costs of catastrophic injuries on their own.

Our commitment is straightforward: we provide compassionate support, combined with tenacious and knowledgeable legal advocacy. We will thoroughly investigate every detail, gather all relevant evidence, and fight tirelessly to secure the maximum compensation your child needs for their lifetime of care, recovery, and future well-being. We work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay no upfront legal fees, and we only get paid if we win your case. Your child’s access to justice should never be limited by your family’s finances.

The statistics are clear: child injuries are sadly common, and often preventable, and their costs can be astronomical. The legal process can be daunting, but with the right advocate by your side, it becomes a path to hope, healing, and justice.

Time is a factor. Evidence can disappear. Memories can fade. Laws like the statute of limitations, while sometimes giving more time for minors, still make early action crucial. Protecting your child’s rights and securing their future starts with one simple, powerful step.

Don’t let worry or confusion keep you from getting the help your child deserves. Don’t carry this burden by yourself.

Take the first step. Call The Child & Birth Injury Lawyers today for a free, confidential consultation. We are ready to listen. We are ready to fight.

Your child’s future is worth fighting for. Let us be their champion.