An accident that leaves a child severely injured is every parent’s nightmare, and unfortunately, that unimaginable experience becomes all too real for hundreds of families each year. In these situations, prompt and proactive civil litigation can be crucial not just to ensuring that the person who harmed your child through negligence bears accountability for his or her actions, but also to protecting your child’s future prospects despite the physical and emotional trauma he or she went through.
No matter how your child ended up injured due to another person’s misconduct, a Blair County child injury lawyer could help you take the right steps to preserve his or her short-term and long-term wellbeing. Once hired, your Blair County personal injury attorney could immediately begin collecting relevant evidence, calculating damages, and building a claim that accounts for all past and future losses this accident caused.
For the most part, proving someone is at fault for injuries sustained in an accident works the same way whether the injured person was an adult or a child at the time of the incident. Either way, the legal basis for an ensuing claim is almost always negligence. This means that someone who owed a duty to act reasonably around others violated that duty through reckless or careless conduct, and directly caused an injury as a result can be held financially accountable for every negative outcome resulting from that conduct.
There are a few important ways in which civil claims involving minors are unique. For example, courts often presume that especially young children under the age of seven are not capable of being negligent because they cannot reliably identify dangerous situations and behaviors. This can sometimes work both for and against a party. For example, if a young child injures an adult, it can be difficult to establish legal liability against the at-fault party, if the child was beneath the age at which he or she could be deemed negligent. On the other hand, a young victim may not face arguments that he or she was comparatively negligent (i.e. also at-fault) by virtue of the young age.
Additionally, parents can sometimes be found liable for their child’s irresponsible behavior, through an action for negligent supervision. A qualified Blair County attorney could explain in detail how a particular child injury case might proceed during a private initial consultation.
If a minor child gets hurt in an accident, the right to file suit for damages that child sustained almost always falls to his or her parent(s) or legal guardian(s) while the child remains a minor.
Recoverable damages in this type of case include economic or non-economic, and may include:
A claim may not be filed more than two years after the child’s 18th birthday. While this may allow much more time to file suit than would be allowed for a typical personal injury claim, it is still generally crucial to retain a child injury lawyer in Blair County and start the litigation process quickly to ensure relevant evidence is readily available.
Seeking comprehensive financial recovery on behalf of an injured child is never a simple process, both in practical and in emotional terms. If you want to effectively protect your child’s interests and those of you and your family in this sensitive situation, having support from experienced legal counsel could be essential.
A compassionate Blair County child injury lawyer could work tirelessly to achieve the best possible resolution for your unique situation. Schedule your initial meeting with Marcus & Mack today.
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