Lack of proper supervision
Inadequate supervision is the most common cause of day care injuries and deaths. In order to make financial ends meet, staffing at any given day care facility might not be adequate. Sometimes there just aren’t a sufficient number of trained staff members to supervise a facility. Under those circumstances, the likelihood of an accidental severe injury or fatality increases dramatically. Nearly all of those are preventable though. Some of them include:
- Traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries
- Eye injuries
- Fractures
- Swallowing foreign objects
- Electrocution
- Drowning
- Sexual assault
Safety responsibility
All parents know that children need to be watched at all times. The responsibilities of day care center employees include both visual and auditory awareness, remaining in physical proximity to the children and knowledge of the needs of each individual child. Any child could be severely injured during a distracted interval.
An injured child needs a voice
What comes to issue is that after a serious injury or death, a child can’t speak for himself or herself. Those children need a relentless legal advocate standing beside them who can persevere and articulate on their behalf. Children under the age of 18 aren’t allowed to retain an attorney on their own, but the law of the State of Washington allows the parents to retain a personal injury attorney to represent the child’s best interests.
The statute of limitations
A statute of limitations in Washington is a type of state law that operates to restrict the time period in which a person can file a lawsuit seeking damages for personal injuries. If a person fails to file their personal injury lawsuit within the time prescribed by the statute of limitations, he or she can be forever barred from seeking compensation for their injuries. The general rule in the State of Washington is that a person has three years from the date of the injury to file a lawsuit seeking compensation for their damages. If the injury was suffered by a person under the age of 18, the individual has three years from their 18th birthday to file their lawsuit.
Filing the lawsuit when the child is a minor
A parent or guardian of a minor in Washington can’t just go file a lawsuit on behalf of the child. They’re required to file a petition in the court that asks a judge to approve who will bring the actual lawsuit. The person filing is usually the petitioning parent, but there are some exceptions to that rule, especially if there’s a possibility of a conflict of interest.
Reasons not to sit on the child’s rights
A parent or guardian shouldn’t wait too long to file a personal injury lawsuit on behalf of a minor. Evidence can get lost or destroyed, memories of events can fade and witnesses can vanish. Medical treatment should be sought immediately. Parents or guardians should follow up with us right after that. We’ll advise on how to proceed further.
Administration of proceeds
Washington law governs administration of all proceeds in connection with a settlement or award of a minor’s personal injury claim. In the case of a settlement, a special attorney is appointed on behalf of the minor by the court. That attorney files his or her report with the court on the settlement along with that attorney’s recommendations as to whether the court should approve the settlement. After reviewing the terms of settlement and the report, the court might approve it. Regardless of whether funds are derived from a settlement or a verdict, it’s highly likely that a judge will require all net proceeds to be deposited into a blocked account until such time as the child reaches the age of 18. Withdrawal of any funds from that account would only be permitted by court order.
Contact a Spokane Personal Injury Lawyer today
We’re dedicated, passionate and successful personal injury lawyers. Insurance defense attorneys know us and respect us. If you believe that your child was severely injured, or it’s likely that your child perished as the result of the carelessness and negligence of a day care facility, contact us right away for a free case consultation and case evaluation.
