Child Accident Injury Law

While child injury cases have many of the same qualities as normal personal injury cases, there are a few unique issues they present that require the knowledge and experience of a certain type of lawyer. For example, one key way that child injury cases differ from normal accident injury claims is that the parent or guardian must file the claim on the child’s behalf. To make matters more complex, serious injuries sustained by minors can have life-long repercussions that must be accounted for in the damages. For this reason, it is essential that the attorney working on the case has the experience in child injury cases necessary to fight for proper compensation, while making the legal process as easy to understand for the child and his or her family.

Motor vehicle accidents stand as the leading cause of death and injury for children between ages 2 and 14. According to the National Center for Statistics and Analysis, around 250,000 minors are injured each year in auto accidents. In many of these auto accidents, there is not much a parent or guardian can do to prevent the crash from happening, however, safety restraints can make a huge difference in protecting the child from seeing even worse injuries. Between 1975 and 2002, an estimated 5,399 lives were saved by the use of child restraints (either child safety seats or adult seatbelts) and in 2005, it was estimated that 425 lives of children under the age of five were saved by car and booster seat use. These restraints, however, are only effective when used correctly. In a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration inspection, it was found that 72% of the 3,500 child safety restraints they looked at were not installed correctly. Studies show that the proper use of a child safety seat lowers the risk of death by 71% for infants and 54% for toddlers.

The three other most common causes of child injury are water related accidents, playground accidents, and the ingestion of household products. After auto accidents, the most common cause of death for children under 14 is drowning. It also sends many more children to the hospital, with potentially catastrophic injuries that could affect the rest of the child’s life. These non-fatal injuries can cause brain damage, which could affect the kid’s ability to hear, see, and learn. Many of these accidents occur due to a lack of pool barriers or adult supervision. Playgrounds are also a common breeding ground for injury, with about 200,000 kids having to go the hospital every year as a result. While these accidents can happen even when there is adequate supervision, many of them are easily preventable. If injury is caused y poor supervision or improper playground maintenance, the family of the injured child may have grounds to take legal action. The fact of the matter is that children are more prone to getting injured than adults are, so it is expected that the care of those supervising the children is of a higher standard.

If someone else’s negligence helped cause the injury to your child, you may have grounds to seek compensation for the damages incurred. Hiring an experienced child injury lawyer is essential to not only receiving proper compensation, but making the legal process as easy and stress free as possible.