Posted in Wisconsin Workers Compensation Related News
Milwaukee Personal Injury Lawyer
If your child was hurt while in the care of a babysitter or daycare provider and you think the caregiver may not have been watching your child as closely as they should have, you may be able to file a claim against them for negligent supervision. Consider discussing your situation and legal options with a Milwaukee personal injury lawyer at Hickey & Turim, SC.
What steps do you need to take to bring a claim against your child’s caregiver?
There are several factors you need to be able to prove if you wish to pursue a negligent supervision claim:
- Did your caregiver accept the responsibility of taking care of your child
- Did your caregiver fail to property watch your child? Further, you need to illustrate what you believe to be proper supervision and how your caregiver failed to follow through with that supervision
- You have to prove that the injury your child sustained was because of the lack of supervision on the part of your caregiver
- Lastly, the conditions were such that an injury could have been reasonably foreseeable.
Who do you file the claim against?
You can file a claim against anyone who agrees to take care of your child while you are gone and is negligent in supervising them. Those responsible may include:
- Daycare providers
- Teachers
- Schools
- Churches
- Babysitters
- Counselors at a camp
- Foster parents
- Nannies
- Other parents you may leave your children with to watch
What is considered proper supervision?
There are several factors that will be considered when determining the proper level of supervision needed for watching children. The circumstances that are taken into account include:
- Older children do not necessarily need as much supervision as younger children
- Special needs children will require a higher level of supervision
- If there is a busy highway or pool near the home or daycare, more supervision is required
- Children with emotional or behavior issues will require a higher level of monitoring
- The number of children will also dictate the amount of supervision required. The more children, the more caregivers
What is the Ratio of Caregivers to Children?
Many states have regulations regarding licensed daycares or caregivers that watch more than one child. If it is found that your caregiver had more children than they could properly supervise, then they may be held negligent for any injuries your child may sustain while in their care.
What is a foreseeable injury?
An ‘unforeseeable injury’ may be an act of God, for example, if a tree branch falls on the child while you were walking through the woods. On the other hand, swimming in a pool during a storm where there is lightning may constitute a foreseeable injury and negligence on the part of your caregiver by letting your child swim in such conditions.
Other Foreseeable Injuries include:
- Leaving a baby in a car on a hot day
- A child has access to unlocked firearm and shoots themself
- Playing with matches and causing a fire
- A child with known temper issues is left without proper supervision playing with younger children and a younger or smaller child is hit or injured by the violent child
