The last thing any parent wants is to see something bad happen to their child. Unfortunately, children are often victims of serious accidents. When a child is injured due to someone else’s negligence, the negligent party can and should be held legally responsible.
When your child is hurt in an accident caused by another person’s careless or reckless actions, consider speaking with an experienced personal injury attorney. Although children are considered minors under the law, they still have a right to compensation from the person or entity responsible for their injuries. Children are entitled to monetary damages for their medical care, pain and suffering, and other related losses from the accident. A Trinity child injury lawyer could file a lawsuit on your child’s behalf or negotiate with insurance companies for a fair settlement based on their injuries.
At Perenich Law Injury Attorneys, we frequently work with child victims and understand how to work with child witnesses. Do not hesitate to contact our office if you have questions or concerns about filing a personal injury lawsuit on your child’s behalf.
Common Causes of Child Injuries
Any accident that injures a child and stems from negligence could be grounds for a personal injury lawsuit. This includes car accidents, slips and falls, drownings, birth injuries, dog bites, and other incidents.
One of the most common causes of child injuries is auto collisions. Even when parents take proper safety precautions, their children are at risk during serious crashes. Children frequently suffer head injuries, burns, and broken bones in car wrecks. Another frequent cause of child injuries is defective consumer products. Manufacturers must design products in a way that is safe for consumer use, including children. The manufacturer is liable for the resulting damages when a child suffers an injury due to a defective or dangerous product.
No matter what type of accident caused your child harm, our proactive Trinity child injury attorneys could work to collect the evidence necessary to hold the at-fault party accountable.
Florida’s Attractive Nuisance Doctrine
In Florida, the attractive nuisance doctrine holds landowners liable for the injuries children sustain, because children do not always know when to stay away from something dangerous.
Although property owners owe a duty of care to someone on their property, the landowner is not liable to trespassing adults. However, when a child is injured while trespassing, the property owner could be held responsible if they know or should have known of a dangerous condition on their land that is likely to attract children. For example, pools are a common type of attractive nuisance in Florida. Landowners should take precautions to prevent children from accessing attractive nuisances, such as locking gates. When they fail to do so, a diligent child injury lawyer in Trinity could hold them financially accountable.
How Long Does an Injured Child Have to File Suit in Trinity?
While some people like to focus on healing and spending time with family immediately after an accident and do not want to think about filing a lawsuit, it is important to keep in mind the statute of limitations because Florida does not give injured people unlimited time to bring a civil claim. The statute of limitations is the period of time that an injured party has to bring a lawsuit. If an injured party does not file their claim within the prescribed time period, the court would likely dismiss the suit with prejudice, meaning that an injured party would not ever be able to bring a claim for compensation. Even if the injured party has clear evidence proving the liability of the defendant, they would likely be prohibited from filing a legal suit if they do not comply with the statute of limitations.
Cases Involving Negligence
Most personal injury suits arising out of someone else’s negligence have a two-year statute of limitations, as outlined in Florida Statutes § 95.11. However, when the person who experiences harm is a child under the age of eighteen, the statute of limitations can toll, which means the clock can pause for up to seven years, as established under Florida Statutes § 95.51(i).
Cases Involving Medical Malpractice
When a child experiences an injury due to the actions of their doctor or another healthcare worker, different time limitations apply. The effect of certain injuries is not immediately apparent with malpractice, so a child’s parents or guardians have additional time to bring a claim. In most situations, families have an extra two years to file a claim for medical malpractice, so they have four years from the date of a malpractice injury. The period can be even longer when it involves younger children. For example, when a child experiences a birth injury, their family might not know about it until the child misses out on certain milestones. Families usually have until the child is eight to bring a claim based on a birth injury.
Personal injury cases involving children are often more complicated, which is why working with an experienced legal team in Trinity that is not afraid to tackle complex issues is essential.
What Do I Have to Prove to Win a Child Injury Case?
To prevail in court or get an insurance company to provide a reasonable settlement offer, the family of an injured child must prove liability. They need to establish with clear evidence that someone else’s actions or inactions are directly responsible for causing the child’s injury. If the claim is based on another party’s negligence, the child’s legal representative must prove the following:
- That the defendant owed the child a duty of care
- That the defendant breached or did not fulfill that care duty because they took careless actions
- That the breach caused the child to experience injuries
- That the child suffered damages from the incident
Our diligent attorneys could thoroughly investigate all relevant evidence from a child accident in Trinity. They could look for proof linking the child’s injuries to someone else’s actions.
For instance, in a case involving injuries sustained by a child in a car wreck, our lawyers could show the elements of negligence in the following manner:
- The at-fault driver owed a duty of care to everyone else sharing the same roads
- The at-fault driver breached their duty by texting while driving and running through a stop light
- Running through a stop light caused the at-fault driver to hit another car, causing a child to suffer internal organ damage
- The child’s injuries resulted in serious medical expenses and other damages.
Picking the right lawyer who knows how to build strong, successful arguments can make a difference in the outcome of a child injury claim.
Work With a Trinity Child Injury Attorney
While children cannot file a personal injury lawsuit, their parents or guardians can pursue a claim on their behalf, and it is often in their best interest to do so. When your child is injured, and you believe someone else’s negligence was a factor, contact a Trinity child injury lawyer at our firm. Our dedicated legal professionals will represent your child’s best interests.
Contact our office today to discuss your case with one of our compassionate lawyers. At Perenich Law Injury Attorneys, we are 3 brothers committed to helping others.
(727) 669-2828