New York City Child Injury Lawyers

Camps and schools are supposed to be safe places for children to socialize, learn, and grow. Sadly, these institutions don’t always provide the nurturing, hazard-free environments they should. When teachers, counselors, maintenance crews, and other staff members fail to perform their duties, innocent children can be accidentally injured or even intentionally abused. If your child was hurt in an accident, or if you’re concerned that your child is receiving poor and neglectful care, you deserve a comprehensive investigation into the matter.

At Sullivan & Galleshaw, our New York child injury lawyers are committed to helping children and their families seek justice and financial compensation for their pain, losses, and suffering. Our legal team is equipped with over 16 years of practical experience litigating a wide variety of claims against daycares, schools, camps and other childcare facilities throughout the greater New York metropolitan area. We are sensitive to parents’ privacy concerns, and will keep your child’s information confidential in all of our consultations.
To set up a free and private case evaluation, call our law offices at (718) 843-0300. Let’s start discussing some of your family’s legal options together.

My Child Was Injured, How Long Do I Have to File a Claim?

If you’re considering taking legal action against a school, daycare, or other institution on behalf of your child, it’s important to understand that you only have a limited time in which to do so. This limited time period is called the statute of limitations, and its precise duration varies depending on the type of claim you are interested in filing. For example:

• You have three years, beginning from the date of the accident, if your claim involves:
• Automotive Accidents
• Defective Products (Product Liability)
• General Personal Injury
• Slip and Fall
• You have two and a half years to file a medical malpractice claim, beginning from the date of malpractice (or from the end of the course of treatment).
• You have two years to file a wrongful death claim, beginning from the date of death.

Medical malpractice means that a medical professional, such as a school nurse, made a careless, avoidable mistake which resulted in death or serious injury to their patient. Some common examples might include withholding treatment from a child, giving a child the wrong medication, or failing to appropriately respond to a medical emergency such as an extreme allergic reaction.

Wrongful death refers to any preventable death which was directly caused by a person or business entity’s reckless, careless, negligent, or wrongful actions, such as a camp lifeguard failing to supervise a swimming child, or a bus driver transporting children while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Proving Negligence and Determining Liability for Accidents Injuring Children

Whether a claim involves malpractice, death, or general personal injury, establishing the defendant’s negligence, or failure to meet normal care standards, is always a key factor for the plaintiff. Teachers, counselors, and other childcare professionals have a duty to protect the children entrusted to their care against foreseeable hazards and events. If this duty of care is violated or ignored, the company or individual at fault could potentially be held liable for any resulting injuries or fatalities. In order to prove negligence, it must be established that a person or facility knew of a risk or danger, yet failed to take appropriate action, thereby permitting an avoidable death or injury to occur.

Some general examples of negligence or wrongful conduct in a childcare setting might include:

• Inadequate supervision of children.
• Administering inappropriate medical care, or failing to administer care where necessary.
• Failing to repair broken or damaged property or equipment.
• Accidentally causing injury by administering physical punishment.
• Deliberately abusing a child.

The New York child injury attorneys of Sullivan & Galleshaw handle many different types of injury claims, including but not limited to:

• Broken Bones
• Facial Injuries
• Back Injuries
• Neck Injuries
• Burns (Heat, Friction, Cold, Chemical, Radiation)
• Scarring and Disfigurement
• Internal Bleeding
• Lacerations
• Organ Damage

Depending on the specifics of a case, liability and compensation may extend to hospital bills, medical expenses, funeral expenses, lost income from missed work, pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life.

If your child was seriously hurt at a camp, care center, or in an academic setting, Sullivan & Galleshaw can help. We can help exercise your legal rights, guide you through the litigation process, and seek compensation for your family’s hardships, so call us today at (718) 843-0300 for a free and confidential legal consultation.