Has Your Child Been Negatively Impacted or Harmed by the Camp Fire?

Wildfires can have a serious impact on everybody involved, especially families. Children are especially vulnerable to environmental hazards and the emotional impact these incidents can leave on them, even more so than adults in some cases. Children are also in critical periods of development, which means that exposure to smoke inhalation and other ill effects caused by a wildfire can have a profound effect on a child later in life. Aside from parents just having to worry about burning toxins, children also have to worry about the psychological aspects of a fire.

A General Overview of the Impact Wildfires Have on Children

Smoke Inhalation: Smoke consists of small organic particles that can cause harm to children. Some of the effects that a child can experience include respiratory tract irritation, worsening asthma, chest tightness, wheezing, eye burning, lightheadedness, and more. Children have the highest risk out of many parties to sustain the worst amount of harm and could have worsening pre-existing lung and cardiovascular effects if they were diagnosed with one of these issues in the past. Children are in the process of developing their lungs, which means that they are more susceptible to the worst harm.

Psychological Effects: Wildfires can also cause psychological harm on many levels, including that in which is caused by the destruction that a wildfire causes. A child might see their family lose their home, see loved ones become injured, and see entire cities be wiped out in front of their very eyes. Children will deal with the wildfires differently depending on their age, overall development level, and past experiences. Children might feel scared about their families and suffered emotional effects such as experiencing more stomachaches, turning to an adult for comfort more frequently, perform poorly at school, or even withdraw from their previous favorite activities. These are all signs that children might be negatively impacted by a wildfire.

When a Child Has Been Harmed

If you believe that your child has been harmed by the effects of a wildfire that was caused by outright negligence, you have many rights to recovery for you and your family’s well-being. Children could easily be devastated if they have been injured in a fire or had to experience the emotional aftermath of a fire that burned down many things that were important to them. If a child has been injured or caused harm in some way due to the impact left by a wildfire, family members might wonder how they can move forward with a claim. In child injury cases, there is a likelihood that your child will have a longer statute of limitations for bringing a claim and will have to be brought by a responsible parent or guardian. Through a lawsuit, parents might be able to recover for a child’s medical bills and care, compensation for financial losses, and more.

Just under 100 or so people have been confirmed as killed in the devastation of the California Camp Fire and 563 people are still unaccounted for, with hundreds to thousands being injured in some way. If your child has been negatively affected or seriously injured by one of these incidents due to the Camp Fire, you have many rights. Many individuals are making the decision to move forward with claims against the PG&E corporation, who has been found to be responsible for these incidents. At the Brady Law Group, we have been standing by the sides of many who have suffered the impact of these fires by sustaining burn injuries, smoke inhalation, and psychological aspects. If you need a legal advocate by your side, we are here for you every step of the way. Contact us for more information at (866) 478-6483.