For some, school is out for the year, and it is about to be summer camp season here in Mississippi. Unfortunately, you do not have to search very hard on the internet to find tragic stories of children who were injured or killed while they should have been having the times of their lives swimming, horseback riding, and exploring the outdoors. Sexual and physical abuse can also occur at summer camps when there are inappropriate or insufficient safety protocols in place. Whether it is an injury, abuse, or neglect, your child should not be harmed while he or she is entrusted to another’s care.
If your child was injured, killed, or abused while at summer camp, you will need to have experienced counsel help you attain your fair share of compensation for his or her injury, counseling, and recovery. Barrett Law has the experience to help you—contact us now at (800) 707-9577.
The Negligence Standard in Mississippi
Not all accidents are compensable. That means that just because something unfortunate happens to your child—she falls off a swing and breaks her arm, he jumps off the top bunk and bumps his head—does not mean that you will receive compensation through the legal system. You will only win a suit for monetary damages if you can prove that the camp in question was negligent.
Negligence means that a party—here, the camp—had a duty towards your child. That is easy to prove in this example because if you entrust the care of a child to a camp, they assume the responsibility of the child en loco parentis, or in place of the parent. You then must show that the camp breached that duty, meaning that it failed to reasonably provide the level of care required to protect the child from injury. The word “reasonable” is particularly important in this analysis, as a camp does not have a duty to protect your child from all harm, just harm that it is reasonable to protect them from. An example may help flesh out what “reasonable” means in this context.
All children are allergic to poison ivy, a plant that is rampant here in Mississippi, and that causes a very irritating rash when it comes into contact with skin. A camp would take reasonable steps to protect children from getting poison ivy by warning them about its appearance; it would be unreasonable to expect a camp to remove all poison ivy from its property. On the other hand, some children have an extreme peanut allergy that can result in death. Accordingly, a camp should have protocols in place that prevent allergic children from receiving peanuts in their meals, should train staff how to prevent peanuts from getting into meals, and should have epi-pens and other medical supplies on hand if those protocols in place. All of those steps make up a reasonable response to a grave threat, and merely warning campers about peanuts would be unreasonable.
Accordingly, camps need to take reasonable steps to protect your child from harm, and the expectations around those steps increase in proportion to the risk at hand. Because sexual abuse is such a significant risk, numerous, redundant steps should be taken to prevent it, including background checks, training, protocols, and two-deep supervision. Similarly, falls from horses can result in paralyzing injuries; as a result, trained supervision, certification of instructors, and helmets should always be in place. For every danger at camp—whether it is archery or bunk beds—there is an expectation that the camp will act reasonably to protect your child from serious harm.
What Should You Do If Your Child Has Been Injured at Summer Camp?
If you or a loved one was injured in at summer camp, you should seek medical attention immediately and contact an experienced personal injury attorney. Inexperienced counsel may lead you down a dead end where you receive no compensation. Instead, let experienced counsel take care of preserving medical records, attaining expert opinions, reviewing evidence, and dealing with the defendant’s attorneys. These are essential tasks that only a personal injury attorney can handle for you.
Call Barrett Law now, an experienced Mississippi personal injury law firm, to represent you if you have suffered a serious injury. Contact us now at (800) 707-9577. Our seasoned Mississippi Personal Injury is ready to