Serving Children And Families After A Life-Changing Accident In California

The consequences of child injuries extend far beyond immediate physical harm – they often result in lasting emotional trauma, developmental challenges and substantial financial burdens for families. Medical bills, ongoing therapy and potential lifelong care needs can devastate families emotionally and financially when their child suffers a serious injury.

Our attorneys at Van Blois & Associates have been fighting for injured children and their families for over 40 years. From our five locations in California, we take on large insurance companies, corporations and government entities without hesitation. We focus on catastrophic personal injury cases, understanding the unique challenges families face when a child suffers severe harm. Whether you are in Oakland, Lafayette, Modesto, Stockton or San Jose, we are here to deliver fierce personal injury representation to you and your family.

What Causes The Injuries?

Toy-related injuries continue to cause injuries to children. Product manufacturers, distributors and retailers may be held accountable if their toy causes injury to a child. A toy can be defective due to manufacturing defects, design flaws or failure to provide adequate warnings. Cribs can be defective when slats break, leaving gaps to strangle children. Contact an experienced products liability attorney to have your child’s injury by a toy or other product thoroughly investigated.

There are a multitude of ways that children become injured. In most cases, these injuries could have been avoided. At Van Blois & Associates, we have successfully represented children injured in these circumstances:

• Negligent supervision: When adults fail to properly monitor children under their care, serious injuries, such as fractures and head injuries, can occur.
• Swimming pools not complying with federal law: Children can suffer drowning or near drowning with brain damage, spinal cord injuries or other trauma when pool owners neglect safety standards.
• Defective playground equipment: Faulty design, poor maintenance or improper installation of playground structures leads to falls, entrapment and impact injuries.
• Inattentive driver hitting a child crossing the street in mid-block: These accidents frequently cause severe injuries, including broken bones, head trauma, internal bleeding and sometimes fatal injuries.
• Drowning: Water accidents happen quickly and silently, causing catastrophic brain damage or death within minutes.
• Dog bites: These incidents often result in facial lacerations, puncture wounds, infections, nerve damage and lasting emotional trauma.
• Burns caused by flammable clothing: These painful injuries often require skin grafts and multiple surgeries, and leave permanent scarring.
• Unsafe toys: Toys with small parts, toxic materials or design flaws pose serious threats to children.
• Recreation accidents: Organized sports, camps and recreational activities can turn dangerous without proper equipment, training and supervision.
• School accidents: From slips-and-falls to laboratory mishaps and playground incidents, schools must protect students from foreseeable dangers.
• Sexual molestation: Adults in positions of trust sometimes abuse that trust by harming children sexually. Sexual abuse causes profound psychological trauma, depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress that affect victims throughout their lives.
• Defective car seat: When car seats fail during crashes due to design flaws or manufacturing defects, children suffer injuries that proper restraints should prevent.
• General car accident-related injuries: Children involved in vehicle collisions sustain unique injuries due to their developing bodies.

When it comes to auto safety, children take a back seat. Many child seats are ineffective in accidents. Ill-fitting seat belts do not protect children properly. Rollout and submarining occur when poor belt fit allows a child to slide while belted. Air bags can cause severe injuries and death to children in automobile accidents.

We have proficiency in preserving settlements and awards for children so that the funds are available for use throughout their lives. We are able to obtain tax-free annuities, or refer parents or guardians to knowledgeable financial institutions for advice. We can establish special needs trusts when appropriate to preserve all public benefits and allow settlement funds to be used for the necessary and special needs of the child.

Call For A Free Consultation Today

However your child was injured, our law firm is ready to help you through this difficult time. Call us at 510-343-9570 or complete our contact form to schedule a free initial consultation. We accept all injury and wrongful death cases on a no-recovery, no-fee basis.