Special Needs Children

Parents diligently work to protect their children. This is especially true for parents of special needs children. To further the education of special needs children and / or to provide parents of special needs children some respite care, special needs children are supervised in schools, day care centers, summer camps, and other locations. Certainly, when an individual, business entity, or government entity undertakes to supervise or care for a special needs child, there is a duty of reasonable care. A child care provider must be knowledgeable of the child's needs, abilities, and requirements so that the child is provided a safe and nurturing environment free from hazards, and, yes, free from personal injuries. Unfortunately for some special needs children, there is a breach of the duty of care which is commonly referred to as negligence which, in turn, caused personal injuries to the special needs children. These cases from a factual and legal standpoint are at times quite challenging especially when the child is non-verbal or otherwise cannot communicate what did or did not happen. Of course, special needs children are not all alike. Many special needs children have tremendous abilities to learn, communicate, and function. The needs of all children including but not limited to special needs children should be respected and honored. All children should be treated with respect, dignity, and due care.

It takes certain qualities in a person to be a conscientious, effective, and caring teacher, aide, counselor, child care provider, etc. . . to properly supervise children. It also takes patience and maturity to effectively and consistently do the job and do the job right. Unfortunately for some special needs children, some staff members lack training, maturity, due diligence, and patience to properly provide for the needs of the special children. At times, a quality child care provider can and will make a mistake. The question is whether the mistake was foreseeable and avoidable. Each personal injury case or claim involving a special needs child should be evaluated on its on facts, merit, and application of the law. Like other cases, there are four basic elements of a case pursued on behalf of an injured special needs child:

1. Duty;
2. Breach of Duty;
3. Causation; and
4. Damages.

Again, when an individual, business entity, or government entity undertakes to provide care and supervision of a special needs child, it must be done so in as reasonable manner. The staff and resources must be put in place based on the needs of the special needs child as well as the needs of the other children being cared for by the individual child care provider, business entity, or government entity.

David A. Wolf is a Florida Personal Injury Attorney and Florida Child Injury Attorney with over 30 years of experience serving clients and the community. He is the author of a number of books including the book titled Florida Day Care Center Injuries - Legal Rights of the Injured Child - Building Blocks of Knowledge for Parents. David A. Wolf provides a FREE CONSULTATION for all child injury matters as well as all other persona injury matters. Get D Wolf On Your Side - At Your Side.

David A. Wolf strongly believes in Giving a Voice to Injured Children and Their Families. Parents work very hard to keep their children safe and do everything within their power to provide for their children. This is especially true for parents of special needs children. When a child suffers personal injuries as a result of the fault or negligence of another person, business entity, or government entity, the parent of the special needs child should obtain advice, guidance, and, when necessary, legal representation to provide a strong voice and advocate on behalf of the injured child.