As a parent in New Port Richey, you do your best to protect your child and keep them safe. When your children are not around, you think you’re entrusting them to responsible entities and people.
Unfortunately, you can’t protect your children fully from all the risks in the world. Being impulsive, curious, and unable to assess risks as readily makes children more vulnerable and prone to injuries than adults.
It’s not uncommon for a child to feel enticed to pet an unknown dog without fear of being bitten. Or get scrapes, cuts, broken bones, sprains, and other personal injuries from participating in sports, playing outside, or ignoring parents’ instruction.
Sometimes, however, children are injured due to reckless or negligent behavior of an adult, defective product, or other avoidable circumstances.
If your child is injured following the negligent behavior of others, you may be entitled to financial compensation. Contact experienced New Port Richey child injury lawyers at The LMD Injury Lawyers, Accident Injury Attorneys to discuss your case and legal options.
As mentioned, children are susceptible to injuries due to their small size, impulsiveness, curiosity, and inability to assess risks as readily as grownups. They, therefore, get hurt for numerous reasons. Anything from a negligent property or dog owner to defective toys can cause your child to suffer life-altering injuries. When a child is severely injured you’ll have to handle:
Then there’s suffering, pain, and mental anguish—which may get worse if the child is needlessly injured. After all, nothing is worse than the thought of your child suffering, not being able to make a living upon reaching adulthood.
Our compassionate lawyers acknowledge that no amount of money can ever undo the injury or loss of a child. It’s just that financial compensation is the only remedy provided by our legal system. To us, however, holding reckless parties is more than winning an award. Filing a child injury claim can also help deter negligent parties from continuing their negligent behavior. We, therefore, leverage our extensive experience to fight for the rights of injured children—and by extension, stop future injuries.
Now, the law may allow for financial compensation when someone else’s negligent or intentional acts hurt your kid. But the settlement may not happen without the legal assistance of an experienced child injury attorney.
Although defense lawyers and insurance adjusters may seem sympathetic, they won’t shy away from using tricks and tactics to devalue your claim. Yes, even in a case involving a worried parent and vulnerable child. Our skilled New Port Richey attorneys are familiar with these defense tactics. Being in business for over 20 years, we’ve seen it all. And we will leverage our expertise to help fight for your child’s rights.
For more than 20 years, the LMD Injury Lawyers, Accident Injury Attorneys have represented victims of negligence. We leverage our decades of experience to ensure liable parties are held accountable. Call our qualified child injury lawyers.
Childhood injuries endanger children’s lives with probable long-term consequences that influence physical ability, emotional stability, and future job earnings. WHO describes child injuries as a public health issue. The organization notes that:
“Child injuries are a growing global public health problem. They are a significant area of concern from one year of age and progressively contribute more to overall death rates until adulthood. Hundreds of thousands of children die each year from injuries or violence, and millions of others suffer the consequences of non-fatal injuries.”
Regarding numbers, child injuries are extremely common. The CDC estimates that over 12,000 children die while 9.2 million are treated for non-fatal injuries each year in the United States. Of course, some accidents are more prevalent than others, with car accidents, bicycle accidents, playground accidents, and drowning taking the lead.
Recognizing child injuries is essential for multiple reasons. One, childhood injuries are a major killer of children in New Port Richey. Unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death for kids ages 10 to 19 years.
Two, children are more susceptible to injuries following their lack of better coordination, impulsiveness, and curiosity. As a result, kids may commence dangerous experimentation and push risky boundaries. (That combined with their lack of capacity to readily respond to danger in most instances increases the risk of serious injuries.)
Overall, it’s essential to recognize the signs and tend to your child immediately. That means looking out for:
At LMD Injury Lawyers, Accident Injury Attorneys, we provide legal representation to families whose children are injured in many different situations, including:
Whether your child suffered a dog bite injury, fell from a broken playground swing, or was hit by a speeding vehicle within a crosswalk, you may seek financial compensation.
Child injuries range from mild to severe, depending on the accident. And can affect their recovery period, with some injuries calling for ongoing physical therapy, counseling, and surgeries. At LMD Injury Lawyers, Accident Injury Attorneys, some of the common child injury claims we handle involve:
Our lawyers can come to your home if you can’t visit our offices. Feel free to engage us today for a free case evaluation.
Child injuries may pose long-term health problems, such as:
Different child injury claims involve differing facts and circumstances. Here are answers to frequently asked questions by our neighbors in New Port Richey.
If your child is hurt due to someone else’s intentional or negligent behavior, your next steps are critical. Here are several steps you can take to think fast and preserve relevant evidence.
Chances are you’ll need legal assistance to hold negligent parties accountable. And that’s where LMD Injury Lawyers, Accident Injury Attorneys child injury lawyers can be handy.
Under Florida law, adults are obligated to exercise reasonable care to keep children and fellow adults safe. The same law extends to some entities such as schools and daycare facilities. When children are left unsupervised or appropriate safety measures are ignored, the negligent parties may be considered civilly liable for your child’s injuries.
Liability in child injury claims generally stems from negligence. That’s when a person or entity acts contrary to what a reasonably prudent person/entity would, under similar circumstances. (It can also result from intentional acts.) However, legal negligence extends beyond showing someone was careless or reckless. There must be injuries that stem directly from the reckless act for a claim to have legal merit. Depending on where, what, and why the child injuries occurred, these parties could owe you compensation:
Multiple parties may be liable for your child’s injuries as well. For example, if a child got hurt in school, your lawyer may name the following as defendants in the civil lawsuit:
Florida law subscribes to the concept of several and joint liability as stipulated in Florida Statutes §768.81. As such, if multiple parties are found to bear liability, each will be responsible for settling a proportionate share of damages equivalent to their responsibility in causing the accident. At LMD Injury Lawyers, Accident Injury Attorneys, we can help you pinpoint at-fault parties and fight to hold each one accountable for their careless behavior.
Child injuries can have serious consequences. Treating the injury, especially in the long term, can cost thousands of dollars. You need a comprehensive calculation of your child’s injury case value before accepting any settlement offers. Generally, the case value depends on multiple factors:
When children are injured, they may be entitled to economic and non-economic damages.
Economic damages compensate for:
Non-economic damages take into account:
That depends on the compensation. If the settlement is lower than $15,000, you (parent or guardian) can settle the claim without the court’s approval. If the amount is above $15,000, you must seek court approval. To do so, your attorney will file a petition indicating facts, liability issues, and other essential details regarding the case.
In Florida, you have four years from the date of the incident to file a civil lawsuit on behalf of your child.
In cases where the injured child (1) has no guardian, (2), the guardian is incapacitated; or (3) Guardian’s interests are adverse to the child’s, Florida law delays the statute of limitation up until the child attains 18 years of age.
The limit also varies in the case of medical malpractice. A skilled child injury lawyer can explain the different time limits—which is critical, because missing the deadline usually eliminates your chance at recovery.
Consulting with a skilled New Port Richey child injury attorney is essential to better your chances of recovery. At LMD Injury Lawyers, Accident Injury Attorneys, we work aggressively to help hold negligent parties responsible. Call us or contact us online for your free case evaluation.
(727) 849-5353