When a child goes to summer camp in Minnesota, they anticipate that they will have a good time and learn more about the great outdoors. Parents also think that their kids will learn some survival skills and come back with a greater appreciation for nature. Sending a kid to summer camp can help to build responsible world citizens. Plus, it can also help in learning team-building and in general fitness.
However, there are times when a child may suffer from bad physical injuries and mental trauma due to an accident at summer camp. In such cases, it helps to have a personal injury lawyer on your side because they can fight your case and get you the compensation you so badly need, given your medical bills and mental trauma.
What Sets a Good Summer Camp Apart From a Badly-Run One?
Every summer camp is not the same. There are some where every care is taken to make sure that there is a high proportion of adults and camp counsellors to children. This ensures that each child gets proper supervision. Additionally, at a good camp in Minnesota, each adult or teen camp counsellor will receive the training needed to supervise children, maintain authority and provide first aid to someone who is injured. You can find an accredited camp by going to the American Camp Association website.
When you send a child to summer camp, you can’t avoid injuries and illnesses altogether. And even at a good summer camp, a kid will come back with some minor cuts and bruises, a sprain at the most. However, when you send your kid to a summer camp where there are fewer adults/counsellors or where the adults/counsellors are badly trained, then your kid might suffer more serious injuries and illnesses.
What Injuries or Illnesses Can Occur at a Summer Camp?
Here are some of the injuries that occur at badly-run summer camps in Minnesota:
- Death by Drowning: This is, of course, the most extreme case, in which a child or several children slip away to go swimming without any supervision. There may not be a lifeguard at hand to rescue them if they get into very deep water or start getting carried away by the current. It’s very important for children at a summer camp to be supervised at all times. If this is not the case, then an unfortunate fatality of this type can occur.
- Hiking Injuries: Sprains and strains are the most common type of injury that might occur when kids are taken hiking or trekking. However, if the kids are not supervised, they may suffer from more serious injuries such as fractures and ligament tears. They may scrape or bruise themselves badly, and if these open wounds are not treated right away with disinfectant and if they are allowed to remain dirty, they may get infected.
- Outdoor Accidents: In addition to swimming and hiking, the camp might try to attract more kids by offering boating, horseback riding, bicycle riding and campfires as other outdoor activities. Of course, it’s great for a kid to participate in these activities and learn new skills. However, it’s also important for the adults/camp counsellors teaching them to be properly trained. It’s very easy for a child to fall off a horse or a bicycle or overturn their boats and drown (or almost drown). At a campfire, if the child gets too close, they may suffer from serious burns.
- Illnesses: Colds and flus are often going around at summer camps. If one kid has a cold or the flu, it can easily get passed on to a different kid. And now, we also have Covid to worry about when sending kids to summer camps. Although it may not be possible to prevent illness completely at a summer camp, it is necessary to treat a child who has a temperature or cold/cough immediately to prevent other children from contracting it.
Why Get a Summer Camp Injury Lawyer?
Going to summer camp is a rite of passage, and you may not want your child to miss out on it. However, if your child comes back with a multitude of injuries resulting from the negligence of the adults/counsellors at the camp, then you are within your rights to ask for compensation to cover not just the physical injuries, but also the mental trauma that the child must undergo. Working with a good personal injury lawyer is a must because they will understand what you are going through and make sure you get the compensation you deserve.
Contact us to learn more about working with a personal injury lawyer for your child’s summer camp injury or illness.