Boston Personal Injury Attorney Blog
The death of child, especially a toddler, can cause unimaginable suffering to victim’s family. It is something so horrific, we try not to even think about such things happening.
According to a recent article from the Helena Independent Record, a toddler died after she stopped breathing while she was in daycare. Witnesses say young victim, an 18-month-old girl, died at a hospital in Spokane, Washington. Emergency personnel responded to a private residence being used as a local daycare. When authorities arrived, they found victim not breathing. They rushed her to a local hospital. Doctors pronounced her dead approximately a week after the tragic incident.
Authorities are continuing to investigate the situation, but medical examiners have not released a cause of death at this time. What is known is victim started aspirating her own vomit, and suffering swelling in her brain.
People from all around the United States have been very responsive to an online fundraising website soliciting donations to help pay the family’s medical bills. Donors have already contributed over $27,000 to assist victim’s family.
As our Boston daycare injury attorneys understand, serious injury or death of a child is not something family members are ever likely to get over. In addition to the extreme psychological trauma, parents may be left with tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid medical bills as result of the accident. The victim may also have experienced a great deal of pain and suffering and may need expensive medical care for the rest of his or her life. Even injuries that may be considered minor if they happened to an adult may cause lifelong damage to young children.
If your child was injured while at daycare, you want to make sure the attorney you choose has experience dealing with these specific types of cases. There are a lot of complex issues that may not exist in cases involving adult victims, and having experience dealing with daycare injuries will be significantly beneficial to your case.
It doesn’t matter whether your child was injured at corporate-owned daycare or a home-based daycare. Anyone running a commercial daycare operation must carry insurance and be prepared to compensate victims and their families in the event of a serious personal injury to a child.
It is also important to note a daycare owner can be held liable for negligence committed by his or her employees. This is known as vicarious liability. In addition to vicarious liability, a daycare owner may also be directly liable for failing to adequately train or supervise employees or negligently hiring or retaining an employee they should know could be a problem.
One of the most important things you can do if you know or suspect your child was injured at daycare is contact management and make sure an incident report is generated. It best not to wait to report any concerns. It is also important to seek prompt medical attention to make sure your child is getting the care he or she needs.
If you are injured in Massachusetts, call Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers for a free and confidential appointment — (617) 777-7777.
Additional Resources:
Injured Helena toddler recuperating at Spokane hospital, Feb. 28, 2015, Helena Independent Record
More Blog Entries:
Hyundai Motor Co. v. Duncan: Expert Testimony in Personal Injury Cases, Jan. 22, 2015, Boston Personal Injury Lawyer Blog