Posted by: Tim Aiken
March 23, 2006

Some of the most tragic fire loss claims involve children. Each year thousands of children suffer serious, life threatening burn injuries. Beyond the heart-rendering pain child burn victims endure, children who are burned must deal with lifelong physical and emotional trauma.

Recovery for personal injuries suffered in a fire frequently occurs under theories of negligence and product liablity. In most states injured children receive special consideration and special protection under the law and both theories have special rules that apply to child fire victims.

Children and Negligence

Homeowners, landlords, shopkeepers, and others who own or control property have a duty to maintain their property and a duty to warn people of hazards on the property. When something on the property is both inviting and dangerous to children, an additional legal responsibility exists to try and prevent injuries to any children who may come or wander onto the property. In most states this rule is called the "attractive nuisance doctrine". The attractive nuisance doctrine is based on a shared belief that:

Children cannot fully comprehend the dangers they encounter; and
A property owner who maintains dangerous conditions on the property and knows that children are likely to come onto the property has a heightened responsibility to protect those children.

Use of the attractive nuisance doctrine differs from state to state. It usually will be applied when:

A landowner knows or should know that children are likely to come onto the property;
The artificial condition, like a swimming pool, chemical storage area, unprotected power line transformer, pose an unreasonable risk of death or serious bodily injury to children;
The children, because of their age, do not discover or understand the dangers they may encounter;
The usefulness of the condition and the burden of eliminating the danger are slight compared with the risk posed to children; and
The possessor fails to exercise reasonable care to eiliminate the danger or otherwise protect children.

Under attractive nuisance doctrine, legal responsibility for you child's burn injuries may be imposed on a landowner even if your child did not have the right to be on the property, if the injuries occured because of an inviting and dangerous condition.

If your child's injuries occured on someone else's property, it is essential that you seek the assistance of an experienced personal injury attorney. There are some dangers, like touching an open fire, that even a very small child is presumed by the law to understand. The property owner may try to claim that your child's own negligence or a lack of parental supervision contributed to the cause of injuries. Overcoming these defenses requires knowledge of your state's negligence laws as well as a detailed understanding of the ways to prove fire cause and spread in court. By working with a knowledgeable personal injury attorney, you will make sure that your child receives the full benefits of your state's negligence laws.

Topics

Home and Industrial Gas Explosions
Medical Malpractice
Propane Gas Explosion at Falk Corp in Milwaukee
Wisconsin Workers Compensation

When a Child is Burned: Special Considerations

Children and Negligence

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