Can You Sue Your Babysitter for Your Child's Injuries?

Children get into fights. They suffer bumps and bruises. This is all part of being a child. However, what happens when the injuries are more severe? What happens when someone was negligent? Can you sue your babysitter for your child's injuries?

You Need to Prove Negligence

As with any claim for injuries, you will need to prove that the party you are claiming is at fault, in this case the babysitter, acted negligently. There are times that a situation is just an accident. Fun and games can go too far, or your babysitter may have done everything in his or her control to prevent accidents from happening.

You will also need to prove that the babysitter accepted this responsibility. That can be done either verbally or in written form. The injury would need to be foreseeable. If nobody could ever have imagined something like this happening—including yourself—the babysitter cannot be held liable.

You Need to Prove Damages

After proving negligence, you will also need to prove damages. This is not just the damages to your child, but any loss you have faced due to looking after your injured child. Did you spend extra time off work, for example?

You can also prove future damages. For example, an injury may make your child permanently disabled. If your babysitter was at fault, you should not be at a loss for their (lack of) action.

You Need to Prove You Chose the Right Babysitter

While you can bring the claim, that does not mean a jury or judge will decide in your favor. There are times that the parents may be at fault because they didn't do reference checks or think about the age of the babysitter.

You need to prove that the babysitter was able to care for your child. This includes matters of age, disability, and past experience. Was your babysitter legally old enough to care for your child? Did you put your own child in harm's way to save some money?

The age of the babysitter will also affect the amount of compensation that can be gained. Suing a teenager could lead to your not getting anything at all, since the teen would have no assets. The burden would fall on the parents, who still may not have assets. Professional babysitters, on the other hand, will likely have insurance just in case an accident occurs.

When it comes to a child being injured, there needs to be proof that the babysitter was at fault. Accidents happen, but they can lead to lifelong injuries. Hire an experienced personal-injury lawyer to find out whether you can sue the babysitter and protect your family.

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