As a parent, it is never easy to handle seeing your child get hurt. Understandably, it is even more difficult when you find out that the injury could have been prevented if someone else had not acted carelessly. When negligence contributes to a child’s injury, the responsible person or entity can be held legally liable for the damages.
When your child is injured in an accident, consider speaking to a Woodbridge child injury lawyer. Although children are considered minors under the law, they still have a right to compensation. 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
Children can sustain injuries in many of the same ways that adults can. However, most accidents involving children can be avoided with proper supervision. Any accident that injures a child and stems from negligence could be grounds for a personal injury lawsuit. Some common causes of child injuries include:
- Dog bites
- Sports injuries
- Car accidents
- Slips and falls
- Medical negligence
- School bus accidents
- Swimming pool accidents
- Dangerous or defective products
- Bicycle and pedestrian accidents
Unfortunately, children also sustain injuries from daycare centers, schools, and other people entrusted with their care. A Woodbridge Township attorney with experience handling child injury cases can work with a family to determine the cause of a child’s harm and who should be held responsible. In some instances, liability may fall on more than one person. For example, a child injured at a daycare center could potentially hold the caregiver liable for negligent supervision as well as the childcare center itself for poor hiring practices.
Attractive Nuisance Doctrine
Another common issue in child injury cases is whether or not someone can be responsible for a child’s injury if the child was trespassing. Children’s curiosity makes them prone to visiting certain places even if there is a risk in doing so. For example, abandoned properties or swimming pools are recognized as attractive nuisances to children. While ordinarily, landowners are not liable to trespassers for dangerous conditions on their property, they can be held responsible for child trespassers under the attractive nuisance doctrine. Children do not always appreciate the risks that come with certain behavior, and it is on property owners to secure things that could pose a risk.
Damages in Child Injury Claims
Compensation for a child injury claim typically covers the economic and non-economic losses the child experiences and will experience in the future as a direct result of their accident and injuries. A Woodbridge child injury attorney can review the details of a child’s accident and consider the impact it will have to help determine an appropriate settlement amount. Some of the factors to consider include medical bills such as surgeries, physical therapy, medications, and medical devices, pain and suffering, emotional trauma, lost enjoyment of life, and a diminished future earning capacity.
Contact a Woodbridge Child Injury Attorney
While children cannot file a personal injury lawsuit, their parents or guardians can open 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, speak to a Woodbridge child injury lawyer from Fredson Statmore Bitterman, LLC. Our legal professionals will represent your child’s interests.
