Minnesota Personal Injury Lawyers Swor & Gatto
Sports injuries are the second-leading cause of emergency room visits for children and teens. Basketball, baseball and softball, football, bicycling, skateboarding, soccer, and more: there are many types of sports that can lead to serious injuries in children and teens. When your child is injured, what do you do next? Who is liable for those injuries? Consulting with a lawyerย can help you better understand your child’s legal rights and determine who is liable for their injuries.
Common Sports Injuries
While there are a wide range of injuries that can occur as a result of sporting events and practices, there are several types of injuries that are more common.
Broken bones can occur in almost any sport. From simple breaks to spiral fractures, there are several types of breaks that can easily sideline your child for weeks at a time. More serious breaks can even prevent them from participating in sports in the future.
Dehydration occurs when a child loses too much water and is unable to replace it. Dehydration can occur as a result of too much time in the sun, working too long or too hard without a break, or some combination of the above. In most cases, dehydration can be prevented by an attentive coach and responsible water-drinking habits. Children may also benefit from sports drinks, especially on hot days.
Sprains and strains are fairly common for children who participate in sports. Sprains and strains can occur from overwork, simple falls, and accidents on the field. Most of the time, these injuries heal fairly quickly.
Traumatic brain injury is less common in children’s sports than it is in adult sports; however, it can still occur. Rough contact with the ground after a fall, getting hit in the head by a ball of any size, or colliding with another player can all cause more than tears: they may cause traumatic brain injury, including lasting damage. The symptoms of traumatic brain injury may not show up immediately. In many cases, children may seem to be fine immediately following the accident, but will eventually show more serious symptoms, including seizures, loss of consciousness, confusion, disorientation, and memory loss. If your child begins to show these symptoms, it’s important to seek medical attention as soon as possible.
Dislocations occur when a joint is pushed past its normal field of movement. They typically occur suddenly and need to be dealt with quickly. Your child may need extensive rehabilitation before the joint is back to normal.
If your child has been injured while participating in a sport, seeking medical attention as soon as possible is critical. You want to be sure that your child receives high-quality care that will help identify and treat their injuries, allowing them to return to normal participation in their sport of choice as soon as possible.
Who is Responsible?
Injuries are a common part of sports, even for children and teens. Sometimes, there is no responsibility other than the child themselves: they were participating in a sport with a potential risk of injury, and they were hurt as a result. Chances are, you signed a waiver indicating that the coach, team, or organization wasn’t responsible for any injuries that your child sustained as a result of their participation in that sport. That doesn’t mean, however, that your child is always the only party liable for their injuries. Consider these scenarios.
Another child maliciously injured yours. The injury isn’t in keeping with the normal injuries that can be expected during a sporting event, or the child who caused the injury was quite deliberate or malicious in hurting yours. In this case, the child and their parents may be responsible for your child’s injuries.
The coach didn’t behave responsibly. It’s 90+ degrees outside, but the kids aren’t allowed to stop and take a water break. Your child is visibly exhausted and no longer performing movements properly, but the coach forces them to continue anyway. It’s a coach’s responsibility to push your child so that they’re able to excel in their chosen sport, but it’s also their responsibility to keep the children in their care safe while they participate in that sport.
If you believe that someone else was responsible for your child’s injuries, consulting with a lawyer is one of the most effective ways to better understand liability in your child’s injury and how it has the potential to impact you moving forward.
What to Do After Your Child is Injured
Has your child suffered a sports injury? You may be scrambling with no idea of how to proceed moving forward. By including these critical steps, you can help improve your response and keep your child safer.
Seek medical attention immediately. If your child has been seriously injured, it’s important to seek out medical help as soon as possible. If they are seriously injured, especially if you suspect spinal cord damage or traumatic brain injury, you may need to summon an ambulance to the scene. In other cases, you may be able to transport your child to a hospital or urgent care facility yourself.
Collect evidence. This might include witness statements, pictures of the event, or pictures of your child’s injuries. You’ll also want to collect statements from medical professionals concerning the injury. Keep track of this critical data so that you will have proof of your medical expenses and your child’s injuries in the future.
Contact a lawyer. If you believe that your child was injured as a result of someone else’s actions, contacting a lawyer as soon as possible will enable you to move forward more effectively. Your lawyer will help establish the type of settlement you can expect to receive as well as giving critical advice about how to proceed.
Don’t Wait to Seek Legal Help
If your child has received an injury due to their participation in a sporting event, practice, or competition, it’s important to seek legal help as soon as possible. Contact usย today to schedule your legal consultation or to learn more about the services we can provide for you and your child.