The Killino Firm’s Miami Child Injury Lawyers have represented thousands of children injured in accidents caused by negligent conduct or dangerous products. We can help you attain the compensation you deserve whether your child’s injury or wrongful death resulted from:
- a defective toy
- careless supervision
- inadequate safety precautions, or
- other negligence or faulty products
Call us today at 1-305-559-6340 for a free evaluation of your case. We can determine if you have a legal claim and advise you of your options.
Common Florida Child Injuries
Florida recreation lends itself to frequent child injuries. Our weather is warm all year round, allowing for regular outdoor activities such as:
- biking
- swimming
- camping, and
- time spent at amusement parks
These activities and more can lead to children’s injuries when defective products or neglect of children’s safety are involved.
Children’s Swimming Accidents
Florida children often drown in residential pools. In fact, drowning is the leading cause of young children’s deaths in the State of Florida. This is certainly due at least in part to weather that makes swimming comfortable nearly all year round.
Florida’s swimming pool law (Florida Statutes, Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act, Sections 515.21 to 515.37) requires homeowners to equip pools with at least one of the safety features listed in the statute. These features include (but are not limited to):
- a pool enclosure / barrier that is at least 4 feet high and that has no gaps, openings, or other characteristics that could enable a young child to gain access to the pool
- an approved safety pool cover
- an alarm that sounds when someone enters the pool accidentally or without authorization
A homeowner who violates the statute can be liable for a child’s swimming accident caused by the child’s access to the pool. The owner’s liability can extend to accidents resulting in:
- drowning injuries (either fatal or non-fatal)
- diving injuries
- slip and fall injuries
- any other pool injuries that could have been prevented by the owner’s reasonable care or compliance with the pool statute
Children’s Amusement Park Accidents
Amusement and theme parks are frequent sites for Florida recreation. Owners and operators of these sites can be legally responsible for children’s injuries caused by their negligence. All too often, defects in rides and other equipment contribute to children’s injuries and deaths. In these cases, the makers and sellers of the equipment can be liable for injuries caused by the defects.
Some of the most common amusement park attractions responsible for children’s injuries include:
- bounce houses
- water slides and pools
- rides, and
- go carts
Accidents caused by defects in any of these attractions can lead to the liability of companies involved in their production and sale. Accidents due to inadequate maintenance of attractions can result in the liability of the party responsible for the maintenance.
When an amusement or theme park accident stems from the carelessness of an attraction operator or the park itself, the following parties may be responsible:
- the park owners and management
- the park as a separate entity
- park employees
- individuals responsible for hiring and training park employees
Under Florida’s comparative negligence law (Florida Statutes Section 768.81), a defendant is responsible only for the percentage of fault attributable to the defendant. However, Florida case law presumes a child under the age of 6 to be incapable of negligence. For this reason, the actions of a child of this age will not reduce the amount of damages recoverable by the child in an amusement park injury case.
Children’s Bicycle Accidents
Bicycling is another activity engaged in year round throughout the State of Florida. Children as well as adults use bicycles for fun and transportation. When children ride their bikes on roadways, parking lots, or other areas where moving cars may be present, deadly accidents can occur.
Drivers are required to keep a proper lookout for bikes as well as cars. This is especially important in a state where bicycles are regularly used on streets and other roadways. A driver may be responsible for the injury or death of a child bicyclist if the driver:
- drives too close to the child
- drives too fast when near the child
- fails to pay adequate attention to driving to notice the child, and / or
- violates any traffic laws or road rules if the violation is a cause of the accident and child’s injury
A child’s comparative negligence (if the child is age 6 or older) may reduce the amount of damages recoverable by the child for bike accident injuries.
Miami Child Injury Lawyers Fighting for You
The Killino Firm’s Miami Child Injury Lawyers have helped countless children and their families obtain deserved compensation for children’s injuries and deaths caused by negligence and defective products. If your child was injured or killed through someone’s neglect or a dangerous product, call our child injury lawyers at 1-305-559-6340 for a free consultation about your case.
