It’s a caregiver’s job to give personal assistance to your children, disabled dependents, or elderly relatives. If your loved ones suffer injury due to a provider’s negligence, you may have grounds for hiring a personal injury lawyer to file a lawsuit against them. Here’s what you should know to protect your family.  

What Is Negligent Supervision?

Negligent supervision occurs when a person entrusted with the responsibility to look after others fails to do so. This includes personal care aides, as well as supervisors like teachers, babysitters, nannies, day care professionals, school counselors, coaches, and youth group leaders.

When You Can File a Claim

You can have your personal injury lawyer file a negligent supervision claim if a caregiver fails to fulfill their duties and this failure results in injury to their charge. For example, you’d have a legitimate claim if your toddler falls and fractures his arm while playing at the day care because the attendant wasn’t paying attention to him. While these claims are usually linked to children, they can also be applied to the supervision of the elderly and even employees. You could sue the cost of the medical bills you had to shoulder, work you miss to take care of your loved one, and any suffering you went through.

How Claims Are Proven

Every negligent supervision claim requires that several elements are present to substantiate a case. Your personal injury lawyer will first need to establish that the other party accepted responsibility for providing care. This would be the case if you formally arranged for supervision with a written contract or exchange of funds. It can also apply to informal circumstances. By law, the parents of your child's friend are responsible for keeping minors safe. If an accident should occur while your child is attending a slumber party at their house, for instance, the parents may owe you a duty of care. Your attorney will also need to establish that harm or injury was actually caused, and that it was directly related to their inattention. They will also have to prove that the injury was foreseeable and reasonably preventable.

When you need a personal injury lawyer to help you win the compensation you deserve, count on Fitzpatrick, Skemp & Associates LLC. Our firm is based in La Crosse, WI, and we've been consistently winning cases for our clients for over two decades. Our team adeptly handles personal injury cases to protect you and your family from the carelessness of others. Send us a message through our website or call us at (877) 784-1230 to get started.