As the summer approaches, it is important for parents and caregivers in Delaware to consider certain seasonal hazards that could result in serious child injuries. While the summer is often a time for recreation given that kids are on summer vacation from school, there are a wide variety of summertime sports and activities that can result in significant child injuries. In many circumstances, another party may be responsible due to negligence.
If an injury does happen, you should seek advice from a Delaware personal injury lawyer who can provide you with more information about your options for identifying the responsible party and filing a claim. In the meantime, if you have a child or act as a caregiver in Delaware, you should learn about some of the common types of child injuries that occur in warm weather and should take precautions.
Sunburns
When kids are at camp or engaged in recreational activities or summer sports, it is critical to be aware of serious sunburn injury risks. In many circumstances, camps and athletic facilities have a duty to ensure that your child does not suffer preventable injuries, including severe sunburns.
Water Sports and Drowning Injuries
From June through September, kids of all ages in Delaware enjoy swimming and water sports for recreation. Yet as an article in Medscape emphasizes, swimming and diving can be extremely dangerous. When younger children are not properly monitored in pools and at the beach, they can drown. Even older kids can drown in the event that they slip and fall around the pool deck, or get caught in a tide at the beach. Parents and caregivers should also recognize the dangerous of dry drowning, which WebMD explains is a situation in which “water never reaches the lungs,” but “breathing in water causes your child’s vocal cords to begin to spasm and to close up,” which can make it difficult or impossible to breathe. Dry drowning symptoms also may not appear for a bit of time after an initial near-drowning accident.
Diving can also result in serious injuries such as traumatic brain injuries, fractures, and spinal cord injuries (SCIs) when a child or teen dives into shallow water.
Dehydration and Heatstroke
If your child is signed up for an outdoor recreational activity or a summer sport, it is critical for coaches to understand the risks of dehydration and heatstroke. Even if your child is accustomed to being outdoors in high temperatures and humidity, dehydration can happen quickly, and kids can go from suffering from heat exhaustion to heatstroke. Exercise-associated hyponatremia—caused by drinking too much water—can also result in severe harm. In either situation, your child will likely need to go to an emergency department for care.
Contact a Personal Injury Lawyer in Delaware
If one of your kids suffers an injury that you believe resulted from another party’s negligence, it may be possible to file a claim for compensation. One of our Delaware child injury lawyers can help you. We can assess your case for you today and provide you with more information about filing a personal injury lawsuit. Contact Freibott Law online or call our office in Wilmington: (302) 633-9000.