Holland Injury Law recently concluded a tragic case for a family whose child was injured due to babysitter neglect.
Our clients hired a neighbor with excellent credentials to watch their six-month-old first child. The babysitter was a college graduate headed to an excellent medical school. She lived just a few houses away. On paper, she was an excellent choice.
The babysitter placed the baby on a kitchen cabinet, then took her hands away from the child to reach into the microwave to retrieve a warmed bottle. While left unattended, the baby toppled from the counter top and landed head first onto the kitchen floor.
The child screamed and cried.
Then it gets worse.
Instead of immediately calling an ambulance, the babysitter called her mother two hours later and lied about what happened to the child she was entrusted to keep safe. She told her mother the child simply fell from a sofa onto a cushion below. The babysitter’s mother was not too alarmed, but advised her to call the parents. The same lie was told to the parents hours later.
The parents came home as soon as possible to check on their child, who four hours later was not acting right. The smile and exhilaration of seeing his mother was absent.
Our clients brought their child to his pediatrician to get checked out. The pediatrician ordered x rays. After the x rays were performed, Social Services were called to conduct an investigation into why a six-month-old baby had multiple skull fractures.
When a helicopter was not available, the child was rushed to St. Louis Children’s Hospital for emergent surgery. Fortunately, the excellent medical staff at Children’s’ Hospital was able to save his life and prevent neurological damage. If more time had passed, it could have been a lot worse.
The babysitter was more concerned about herself than the child, and a tragic accident was compounded by her lying.
The parent’s turned to the St. Louis personal injury law firm Holland Injury Law to see what could be done to recover the substantial medical bills. We examined the babysitter’s homeowners coverage and successfully argued with the insurance company that liability coverage and medical pay coverage should be in force for the babysitter’s negligence.
The insurance company offered every dime of available coverage to our clients. Case Results
The babysitter was branded with a child endangerment violation from Social Services and her admission to a prestigious medical school was withdrawn.
Holland Injury Law is sponsoring a video in conjunction with a local prosecuting attorney’s office to promote social awareness of head trauma in infants. Traumatic Brain Injuries
Our client’s tragic story may help to prevent some other child from long term issues relating to head trauma. At Holland Injury Law, we are tenacious with wrongdoers, but seek to make the world a better place with each case we handle.
