Knowing that your child is injured is difficult for any parent. Knowing that your child was injured because someone else was careless with their safety can be more painful, and it can feel unjust. You do everything you can to keep your children safe, but when someone is careless, it can be difficult to protect them.
Luckily, you have a chance to help your child recover. Check out the information below to learn more about how to file a lawsuit on your child’s behalf.
Who Can File a Lawsuit for a Child?
Dealing with injuries for a child is difficult because they can’t file a claim on their own. Your child won’t be able to represent themselves in court, which means either they must wait until they’re old enough to sue or they need someone to act in their interests. Luckily, you have an opportunity to act on their behalf.
As a parent, you may be eligible to be their guardian ad litem. This means you’ll stand in for them in the courtroom, protecting their interests. Your child injury lawyer can help you take the right steps in court to file your lawsuit.
Time Limits for Your Child’s Injury
After a serious injury, the time limits on your child’s injury claim begin. Typically, you only have two years to file a lawsuit against the at-fault party. But when your child is too young to sue, that can be more complicated.
Luckily, your child has options. Because they’re not old enough to sue now, their time limits won’t begin until they’re old enough. That means they’ll be able to sue for two years after they’re eighteen. But you may not want to wait that long—your family needs financial help now.
Fortunately, you can act on your child’s injury shortly after the accident. Acting later can impact the evidence you have, since it can be lost over time or degrade. Acting now also gives you a chance to get financial aid to help your child recover when they need it most.
Getting Compensation for Your Child
When your child is hurt in a serious accident, your family may need compensation to help them overcome these losses. These losses caused by the accident, or damages, should cover all your child’s economic and non-economic suffering.
Their economic damages include financial losses, like medical bills. For example, your child may have suffered a brain injury in the accident that requires long-term care. Your damages should cover all the costs of your child’s injuries.
A serious injury can be traumatic to a child, which means your family may be due non-economic damages, too. These damages cover the mental and emotional toll of a serious injury. Because these losses are intangible, you may need a lawyer to determine the monetary value of these damages.
File a Lawsuit on Your Child’s Behalf with a Lawyer’s Help
If your child has been hurt in a serious accident, you have a chance to act now for them. With a lawyer from Kohan & Bablove Injury Attorneys on your side, you have an opportunity to get your child compensated now, not later. Your lawyer can even begin with a free consultation about your injury claim. When you’re ready, call 949.535.1341 or fill out the online contact form below.
