Any adult taking care of a child must do their best to keep the child from harm. If the adult's negligence leads to the child's harm, then the adult should pay for the child's damages based on the legal principle of negligent supervision. Below are some of the examples of negligent supervision.
Leaving Dangerous Things Unsecured
Some things are inherently dangerous, especially to kids, and should be secured or locked up at all times. For example, kids should not have access to drugs, guns, or pesticides. Therefore, an adult who leaves a gun lying around with a child around is guilty of negligent supervision. The adult will be liable for the damages if the child shoots themselves or someone else.
Failed Protection from Harm
Adults taking care of children have the responsibility of keeping the children from physical and emotional harm. For example, if a child is being bullied (whether physically or emotionally), the adult supervising the kids should take appropriate measures to stop the bullying.
Failed Protection from Dangerous Surroundings
Some environments are surrounded by dangerous things that can harm children. Busy highways, swimming pools, and broken stairs are all examples of dangerous environments that can cause harm to kids. Any adult taking care of a kid in such environments must take care to prevent harm to the child. For example, an adult with a kid in a swimming pool must ensure the child has adequate safety gear (such as floating devices and goggles) and ensure the child swims in age-appropriate depths.
Improper Care of Sick Children
All children need care, but sick children need more care than healthy children. A sick child might need help even with issues that they would normally handle on their own, and the supervisory adult must provide this help. For example, the adult must ensure that the child takes their medications, bathes, brushes their teeth, and eats the right food. Failure to do any of these things might cause the health of the child to deteriorate, and the responsible adult will be liable for that.
Allowing Access to Adult Items
Some items are not inherently dangerous to adults, but they can be dangerous to kids. For example, a discarded appliance such as a freezer or washing machine is not that dangerous to an adult. However, a child can easily get trapped in such appliances and get injured. Therefore, adults taking care of kids should keep the kids safe from such appliances.
To learn more, contact a personal injury attorney.
Share14 February 2020
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