Summer vacation, with its variety of activities and the long hours during which children are often unsupervised, or with less supervision than is customary during the year, is inherently prone to injuries and bodily harm.
Beyond the health concerns that the injury raises, it also raises the need for legal action, in order to try to cover the financial damages caused by the injury. However, unlike the medical field, where it is clear to the parents who the relevant medical factors are, legal treatment sometimes evokes a feeling of helplessness due to the lack of experience in such proceedings.
In the following lines, I will try to provide initial information about the legal implications that a child's injury can have, and how to act to optimize and maximize the results of legal treatment.
Saving documents
First, full attention must be given to medical treatment - because "health is the most important thing." This is true in life and it is also true in legal proceedings. The treating doctors must be explained, from the initial consultation, what happened to the child, given the full medical treatment recommended by the professionals, and careful to keep the medical documents relating to the injury.
Additionally, it is recommended that you keep receipts for any financial expenses you incurred due to the injury. If you were forced to miss work due to the injury, it is a good idea to ask your employer for confirmation that you were absent.
Photographing the event venue
Equally important, if you believe the injury was caused by a safety defect at the scene of the injury, for example: lack of warning signs, a floor that does not prevent slipping in a pool or in a place where there is moisture, stairs whose edges are not marked, lack of sufficient lighting that allows you to avoid the obstacle, dangerous installations, installations with no protection underneath or that it is unsafe, potholes, potholes, and anything similar - take a photo of the place where the accident occurred. Make sure that the date on which the photo was taken can be proven from the photo, and that the photo clearly indicates the defect that, in your opinion, caused the injury.
We saved, we took pictures - what now?
If you did this, then after the injury you already have a considerable amount of paperwork... what do you actually do with it?
Activating personal accident insurance
First, every child in the education system, from kindergarten age, is insured with personal accident insurance. Part of the parents' payments to the educational frameworks includes this insurance by law. To the extent that the injury in question qualifies for compensation according to the insurance policy, it is possible to contact the insurance company and request compensation from it according to the insurance contract.
When there is no insurance coverage - a tort claim
Additionally, or in cases where the injury is not covered by the insurance contract, it is appropriate to consider a tort claim for compensation for bodily harm caused to the child. Such a claim is a claim for financial compensation from the person at fault for the injury, for the damage caused by the injury: the pain and suffering, the financial damage caused, and in cases of disability, God forbid, also the financial and other damages that may still be caused by the injury.
Guilty of injury
Since a tort claim is only relevant if someone is at fault for the injury, pictures and allegations of the defect that caused the injury are of great importance. Sometimes the safety defect is not a result of the physical environment in which the child was, but rather a lack of adequate adult supervision, or the conduct of dangerous activities. All of these factors must be considered in assessing the feasibility of the tort action.
Injury resulting from a car accident
If it is a traffic accident, the question of who is at fault for the injury is irrelevant. In this case, it is important to report the accident and the injury to the traffic police, and to receive confirmation from the police that you did indeed report the accident.
It should be noted that there is a legal obligation to report any traffic accident involving injuries to the traffic police. In the event of a traffic accident, legal proceedings are conducted with the insurance company that provides compulsory insurance for the vehicle in which the child was traveling at the time of the accident, and if he was a pedestrian, with the insurance companies of all vehicles involved in the accident.. It should be noted Because it is important to try to locate the details of all vehicles involved in the accident, not just the vehicle that directly hit the child or the vehicle whose driver you believe was at fault in the accident.
Applying to National Insurance
In addition to all of this, if, God forbid, it is a serious injury, it is possible to apply to the National Insurance Institute for a disabled child's pension. Parents of children who suffer from a significant disability are entitled to a monthly pension from the National Insurance Institute, and sometimes also assistance with mobility, adapting the apartment, etc.
In conclusion:
As you can see, the more complex the injury, the more procedures may be involved. A procedure based on an insurance contract, a procedure based on tort laws, and a procedure based on the social rights that each of us is entitled to by law. For this reason, it is recommended to contact an experienced attorney in the field of torts and insurance or National Insurance, so that he can assess the feasibility of resorting to the various procedures and the relevance of each of them to the specific case, as well as so that he can recommend the right party to contact with a request for compensation.
I wish you an active and pleasant summer, without needing any of this advice.
Lawyer Ziva Ofek, From the office of Wolfson Weinstein & Co.', specializes in the field The tort.
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