Children and Youth

Most of the injuries experienced by children and youth are preventable. According to the Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS), injury is the greatest single cause of loss of healthy years of human life, especially among children and young adults. Citing the World Health Organization’s World Report on Child Injury Prevention, the CPS estimates that approximately 950,000 children aged 17 and under were killed by an injury during a single calendar year. A remarkable 87% of these deaths were due to unintentional and potentially preventable causes. 

Injuries to children enact an alarming toll on Canadian society. Between 1994 and 2003, approximately 25,500 Canadian children were hospitalized due to injury. The CPS suggests that greater consideration for safety could prevent thousands of these tragedies, arguing that “[i]f high income countries were to implement programs using proven-effective interventions which considered the special vulnerability of children, more than a thousand children’s lives would be saved each day.”

At Oatley Vigmond, we believe that legal action, and personal injury claims for children in particular, represent an important mechanism to encourage a safer environment for young people in Canada. 

Children are unable to defend themselves in court and rely on you to fight for their physical, emotional and financial future. With that in mind, it is vital that you understand your rights and the rights of your injured child. If you suspect that someone else’s act or omission caused the injury to your child, you may be eligible for compensation. Oatley Vigmond’s child injury law team has a proven track record of success in:

Ensuring your family’s immediate and ongoing care needs are met

Assessing damages through loss of income, child’s estimated future economic loss, pain and suffering, and rehabilitative costs

Securing compensation in court to protect your family’s physical, emotional, and financial future