Nothing scares Baltimore parents more than the thought of their child being injured. While this thought may be present in the back of parents' minds, the daily routine of work and school makes these thoughts drift out of focus. Unfortunately, however, these fears become a reality for some when their children are injured.
This was the case recently for one family after a pre-kindergarten student was struck by a car. The accident occurred when an elderly man was driving the car and failed to stop for a school bus stop sign. The child was struck by the car, and the elderly man apparently tried to leave the scene of the accident, although other parents followed him.
While cases like the above with child injury revolve around the legal question of whether a person was negligent, the rules of negligence may be somewhat different when child injury is involved, as opposed to a case where another adult was involved. In the typical case, individuals must exercise reasonable care under the circumstances. With children involved, however, others may have to use an even greater amount of care and precaution.
This is often true with school bus stops and other situations where drivers know that children may be present. The driver has to be prepared for young children to cross the road, and use special attention to guard against that event. While this does not amount to a presumption of negligence, it may change how the negligence question is analyzed in the case, and what the injured child's recovery may be in the case.
