Texas Parents’ Guide to Child Injury Lawsuits and Negligence

When Should You Consider a Child Injury Lawsuit?

Some parents worry that taking legal action after a child suffers a serious injury is a sign of greed. But that couldn’t be farther from the truth. In fact, taking legal action is a step toward holding a reckless party accountable and protecting other children from suffering the same harm.

Often, a child injury lawsuit stems from negligent supervision or unsafe conditions. When you take your child to school, summer camp, church, or a business, you trust that those facilities take a “safety first” approach when it comes to their maintenance and operations. But that doesn’t always happen. In more than a decade of advocating for Texas families, we have seen:

• Camp counselors ignore safety protocols, such as not closely watching children in a body of water.
• Escalators and elevators at the mall that have not been properly inspected or maintained.
• Hotel pools treated with unsafe levels of choline and other chemicals. 
• Indoor playgrounds outfitted with broken, dangerous equipment.
• Jet Ski crashes and mishaps on a local lake.
• Lack of maintenance and supervision at trampoline parks.
• Mishandled food and unsanitary preparation practices when distributing free food samples.
• Reckless drivers cause car wrecks while kids are in the car.
• School buses involved in wrecks.
• School districts hire predatory teachers, thus endangering students.
• Unsafe animal encounters and malfunctioning rides at county and state fairs.
• Unsecured furniture or television sets in a vacation rental.

It may be time to take legal action if your child was seriously hurt as a direct result of a preventable safety failure. Learn more about filing a child injury lawsuit in this article.

What Are the First Steps to Take After Your Child Is Injured? 

If you suspect negligence played a role in your child’s injury, taking these basic steps can protect both your child's physical health and their future legal rights:

2. Seek Medical Care Immediately: This is always the most critical step. Even if your child’s injuries seem minor at first, get them evaluated by a pediatrician, an urgent care clinic, or an emergency room doctor right away. This ensures they receive the proper care and creates an official medical record linking the injury to the incident.
3. Report the Incident to the Proper Authorities: Make sure the injury is officially documented by the organization or agency overseeing the facility. This might mean filing an incident report with the school principal or the management team at an amusement park or other facility where the incident occurred or calling the local police.
4. Document Exactly What Happened: Take clear photos and videos of your child’s injuries as soon as possible. If you are still at the scene of an incident, photograph the location where the injury occurred and include any broken equipment or hazards. Write down your own detailed notes about the timeline of events, the names of staff members present, and what was said to you by the supervisors.
5. Preserve All Potential Evidence: If your child was bleeding from their injury, do not wash the clothes or shoes your child was wearing when they were hurt. Safely store any damaged personal items in a Ziploc bag and put the bag where it will remain untouched. Keep a file with all your child’s medical bills, discharge papers, and every piece of written communication, such as emails, text messages, and accident reports from the facility's management.
6. Contact Our Child Injury Lawyers at The Button Law Firm: With more than a decade of advocating for children and their families across Texas, we make sure you won’t have to experience this alone. Our team of lawyers will fight for your family and navigate the legal process so that you can have peace of mind and focus on your child’s healing journey. We will even deal with the insurance companies on your behalf. Call us at 214-699-4409 or email us at intake@buttonlawfirm.com for a free case evaluation.

Read this article to learn why hiring a lawyer is crucial after your child suffers a serious injury.

What Damages Can You Recover in a Child Injury Lawsuit?

Under the law, blame or accountability for a child’s injury falls under damages, or the financial recovery awarded to the harmed child and their family. While no amount of money can erase the traumatic event that your child experienced or the injury that they suffered, a successful result in a lawsuit can help secure the critical resources that your child needs to help them move forward in their recovery.

In Texas, damages in a child injury lawsuit can include:

• Medical expenses such as emergency room visits, hospital stays, surgeries, prescription medication, and physical therapy.
• Anticipated future medical care costs for severe injuries such as future treatments to help an injury fully heal, appointments with specialists, and counseling or play therapy.
• Your child’s pain and suffering, which includes sleep disturbances, emotional distress, increased anxiety.
• Loss of enjoyment of life, meaning your child’s injury prevents them from participating in an activity they loved such as playing with their friends, swimming, or biking.

Watch this video to learn more about damages.

Why Does Timing Matter in a Child injury Case?

Time may seem to stop when your child is healing, but the clock is already ticking in the eyes of the law. The deadline for taking legal action, also known as the statute of limitations, is two years from the date of the incident that caused your child’s injury(ies).

However, timing is critical in a personal injury case involving a child. First, evidence can disappear quickly. A business might erase security camera footage, witnesses’ memories can fade, and the unsafe condition that harmed your child might be quickly fixed to cover up negligence.

By quickly contacting an experienced Texas child injury lawyer like our team at The Button Law Firm, you can help preserve vital evidence that can help strengthen your family’s case and recoup damages. Call us at 214-699-4409 or email us at intake@buttonlawfirm.com for a free case evaluation.

More Free Resources About Filing a Child Injury Lawsuit

Check out these free resources created by our team of child injury lawyers if you still have questions but aren’t quite ready to reach out to us about holding a negligent school, camp, church, or business accountable for harming your child:

• Find Trusted Child Injury Attorneys Near You to Advocate for Your Family
• Can I Hold Another Driver Accountable for My Child’s Injuries in a Car Wreck?
• What to Do If Your Child Was Hurt on Unsafe Playground Equipment

How Can The Button Law Firm Help Your Family?

Holding a school district or a business accountable anywhere in Texas can be intimidating. You don’t have to fight or navigate the legal process alone. By contacting our team of dedicated Texas child injury lawyers early on, you ensure that your family’s rights are protected. We are passionate about keeping Texas kids safe from the start and making sure that negligent facilities change their ways so no other families have to go through what you are experiencing. Let our firm help your child and family move forward by calling us at 214-699-4409 or emailing us at intake@buttonlawfirm.com for a free case evaluation. Our legal team works on contingency, meaning we don’t charge you or collect any upfront fees to get started on your case.