Who is Responsible if My Child is Injured at Summer Camp?
Summer is here, and it is time for kids to celebrate the completion of yet another school year and start packing up for summer camp. Having exciting outdoor adventures, making new friends, and learning to be independent, are some of the several benefits of life at summer camp.
The American Camp Association (ACA) data reveals that each year, nearly 11 million children attend 5,000 day camps and 7,000 overnight camps in the United States. For parents, sending their children off to summer camp under other people’s supervision is an exercise of trust and good faith.
Every parent tries their best to research and choose a camp with an incident-free track record and solid reputation. Nevertheless, incidents do happen at summer camp. Mostly, these are minor cuts, scrapes, and bruises; but when serious illnesses or injuries occur, who can we hold responsible?
What is the Summer Camp’s Duty Towards the Campers?
Most importantly, the camp’s duty is to keep the children under its care, fairly safe. Following the premises liability legal theory, the campgrounds should be hazard-free. The activities at the camp need to be properly supervised, age appropriate, and not unreasonably risky.
The campers and their parents deserve the right to review the camp’s facilities and programs. If the camp owners, counselors, or staff members, fail in their basic duty to provide and maintain an environment where the safety of the campers is paramount, resulting in a serious injury, a parent is entitled to file a lawsuit against the camp.
Common Injuries and Illnesses at Summer Camp
Injuries as a Result of Inadequate Supervision
Young kids, when left unsupervised, can get into all sorts of trouble. When you decide to send your kid to summer camp, you are counting on the camp supervisors and staff to maintain adequate supervision.
The onus is on the camp owners and operators to provide appropriate supervision to all campers. In the event of serious injuries or fatalities due to lack of suitable supervision, parents and families of the campers have the right to hold the camp liable.
Injuries as a Result of Failure to Use Appropriate Equipment
Sports and activities like horseback riding and cycling call for suitable protective gear. In case of serious injuries resulting from the camp’s failure to either provide the gear or enforce its use, the camp may be held liable for such injuries.
Injuries as a Result of Slip, Trip, and Fall Accidents
If a poorly supervised or unattended hazard at the camp causes slip, trip, or fall injury to a camper, the camp owners may be held liable. However, in order to assign such liability, it needs to be proven that their negligence in maintaining adequately safe conditions on the premises was the reason behind the hazardous condition to exist, as per the premises liability law.
Physical or Sexual Abuse as a Result of Failure to Screen Staff
It is the camp owners’ responsibility to hire supervisors, counselors, and staff members, after performing meticulous background checks. They must be thorough in identifying any red flags in a staff member’s application that might suggest that the applicant should not be around children.
It goes without saying that an applicant with a record of conviction for domestic abuse, violent crime, or sexual offense, should not get past the camp’s screening process. If physical or sexual abuse occurs at the camp, the camp owners may be held liable for their failure to screen their employees and wrongful hiring.
Communicable Diseases
When children are together in groups and they stay, sleep, and indulge in various activities, there are chances of germ transmission among them. Respiratory and gastro-enteritis infections are the common ones that spread around in a group, being mostly minor diseases that subside in a few days.
In the rare event of onset and spread of a serious disease like meningitis or measles, the camp’s handling of the situation may be looked into. The camp may be held liable if any negligence in adhering to health and sanitation guidance is proven. A parent can sue the camp for the medical bills, pain and suffering, and long-lasting damage to their kid’s health.
Dangerous Camp Activities
Hiking, horseback riding, and other adventure activities at summer camp carry with them implicit risks for the participating campers. As a parent, the camp will generally require you to sign a waiver of liability form.
If the camp has adequate provision for supervision, and appropriate protective gear for such activities, they may not be held liable if a child suffers an injury in an inherently dangerous activity. However, if their negligence in carrying out the above responsibilities can be established, a parent might still have a case.
Consult a Trusted Personal Injury Attorney for Your Child’s Summer Camp Injuries
Kids are prone to get hurt, especially at camp with inherently dangerous activities. Assigning liability and bringing a claim against the camp in case your child suffers serious injuries, will depend on the specific circumstances of your case.
Summer camp accident victims may be left with physical and emotional scars. If your child sustained serious injuries or an illness at camp due to someone’s negligence or wrongdoing, talk to the legal professionals at Smith Law Firm to understand the legal options available to you.
Our personal injury attorneys will help determine who is liable, and how you can recover. Speak to us today at (334) 702-1744 for a free case review.
