This month is a good time to reflect on eye safety for children. Eye injuries and preventable vision impairment sustained in childhood can affect a child’s life, education, and future career prospects. Fortunately, there are many things that can be done to protect our children.
Preventing Children’s Eye Injuries
You can reduce the risk of injuries to your child’s eyes with these tips:
- Get regular checkups: Your child’s eyes can change quickly, and not having the right eyeglasses can mean your child gets headaches or has a hard time keeping up at school. Regular appointments with the eye doctor can help detect and address any eye injuries or problems early, too.
- Have an eye safety kit at home and in the car: An eye wash station at home and a portable one in the car can help if your child gets something in their eye. At home, you may also want to keep some inexpensive safety glasses on hand for any arts and crafts projects.
- Awareness of symptoms: If your child’s eyes wander or if you notice your child is rubbing their eyes, squinting, or turning their head or tilting their head to see clearly, visit the doctor. Also make an appointment if you notice any changes in their vision or if you suspect any problems.
- Watch out for the sun: Glare and the sun can cause headaches. It can also cause permanent injury to the eyes, especially if your child looks directly at the sun. Have your child wear sunglasses or a hat with a visor in bright conditions, especially when they’re around water. Supervise children to make sure they’re not taking risks with their vision.
- Make sure your child wears appropriate safety equipment: During sports, science class, and other higher-risk activities, children should be wearing the right equipment to protect their vision, whether that’s face shields on the field or safety glasses in the classroom.
Who Is Liable for a Child’s Eye Injuries?
Daycares, schools, camps, and other places responsible for caring for children have an obligation to keep children safe, and this includes keeping their eyes safe from injury. Caregivers and organizations may need to take reasonable steps to prevent eye injury. They may need to:
- Properly supervise children
- Get immediate help if an eye injury occurs
- Have a first aid kit and trained staff on hand if an injury occurs
- Provide sunglasses or shade on sunny days
- Provide safety glasses or other protective equipment, appropriate for activities
- Report to you if they notice any squinting or other signs of eye problems
If care providers, schools, daycares, and other organizations and businesses fail to take these precautions, they can be held liable if your child’s eyes sustain an injury. You may also have a claim against a doctor or medical professional if their negligence caused damage to your child’s eyes. For example, if a medical provider failed to notice or test for eye problems and your child’s vision became worse as a result, you may be eligible to seek compensation.
If your child has sustained vision loss or eye injuries as a result of someone’s negligence, find out whether you have a claim. Seeking compensation can help you pay for the medical care your child may need after this type of injury. You can always call Flaxman Law Group at 866-352-9626 or contact us online to schedule a free, no obligation case consultation with a childhood injury claims attorney to discuss your case.