It’s every parent’s worst nightmare: another adult acts in a reckless or careless way, and your child sustains a serious injury that they did nothing to cause or deserve. When your family is dealing with a situation like this, you’re dealing with unexpected expenses and personal losses. When you don’t enforce your right to seek civil recovery, you may be forced to handle those losses all by yourself without the person who actually caused them having to pay a dime.
Money alone can’t erase the trauma that a serious accident can cause for a young child, but demanding fair civil compensation with a York child injury lawyer can reduce the negative impact this accident has on your child’s future. Even when you just need help covering short-term medical bills, our knowledgeable personal injury attorneys can walk you through the process of building a strong civil claim and getting the restitution your child deserves.
We were able to obtain a $3.5 million pre-trial settlement for a child struck by a drunk driver while riding her bike near her home. We have helped countless parents and children seek justice after severe accidents. Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers are prepared to fight for your family, too.
Can Parents Sue on Behalf of Injured Kids?
Like other states, Pennsylvania doesn’t consider minors under the age of 18 to be capable of representing themselves in court, which means a child who gets hurt because of another person’s misconduct can’t file a lawsuit against that other person themselves. As the adult parent or guardian of an injured child, you can take action and recover compensation on their behalf for losses like:
- Physical pain and discomfort
- Loss of life’s pleasures
- Emotional distress and psychological trauma
- Lost future working and earning capacity
- Past and expected future medical bills, including the cost of physical therapy, wheelchairs or other assistive equipment, and pain medications
- Lost wages for a family member who has to leave work to care for the injured child or for an alternative like in-home medical assistance
As a child injury attorney in York can further explain, there are some unique restrictions on cases like this in order to ensure the money recovered on behalf of injured children actually goes towards that child’s needs. It’s common to need court approval before you can agree to any out-of-court settlement offer for your child’s injury, and you generally cannot use any funds you get through the claim without asking the court first.
Building a Civil Claim Around Negligence
You’ll still need to prove someone else specifically liable for injuring them in order to recover compensation. The court won’t assume an adult involved in an accident with a child is always at fault for the child’s injuries. There are some circumstances where an adult would be liable for a child’s injuries when they wouldn’t be liable for an injury suffered by an adult under the same circumstances.
For example, landowners usually aren’t legally liable for accidental injuries suffered by adults trespassing on their land. However, when a young child trespasses onto private property because they were curious about something like a swimming pool or construction equipment, the landowner might be liable for an injury the child sustains because of that attractive nuisance when they didn’t do enough to keep it secure from children who couldn’t understand its dangers. A child injury lawyer in York can explain how this and other exceptions might work in practice during a private initial meeting.
Contact a York Child Injury Attorney for Assistance
No child deserves to suffer any kind of injury because of misconduct by an adult around them. Unfortunately, children get hurt by negligent adults every day, and the process of demanding civil compensation on behalf of a child can be more complicated than you might expect.
Representation from a York child injury lawyer is essential to protecting your child’s future prospects by ensuring your family is compensated for the harm they’ve suffered in the present. Call today to discuss a possible claim with a free, no-obligation consultation.
