Every day, hundreds of children suffer injuries in the United States because of the careless and negligent actions of others. Whether it’s from medical malpractice, a defective product, or faulty playground equipment, anyone who harms a child should be accountable for their actions. If your child sustained injuries due to the negligent behavior of another party, seek the professional counsel of an Atlanta child injury lawyer at Brauns Law Accident Injury Lawyers, PC.
Why Choose Brauns Law Accident Injury Lawyers, PC for Your Atlanta Child Injury Claim?
Our firm centers itself around one fundamental mission—to protect the rights of injury victims. We’ve successfully obtained maximum compensation for countless clients of all ages who endured physical and financial harm from an accident they did not cause.
Brauns Law Accident Injury Lawyers, PC has the experience and track record to handle cases involving all types of injuries, from broken bones and brain injuries to spinal cord injuries and even wrongful death. If your child sustained a severe injury due to another’s reckless or negligent behavior, contact Brauns Law Accident Injury Lawyers, PC in Atlanta for legal help filing your child’s injury claim.
Negligent Supervision of Children
Children are vulnerable to those who care for them, and improper care can lead to many different types of injuries. Whether or not you can receive compensation depends on whether or not the injury resulted from an intentional or negligent act. Negligent supervision happens when someone with the responsibility of caring for your child fails to properly do so, and that failure brings harm or injury to a child.
When another person agrees to care for your child, they take on the responsibility of acting with reasonable care. This standard applies to any caregiver, teacher, driver, or any other role that supervises children. If that individual exhibits carelessness or negligence that leads to a child’s injury, they could be liable for financial damages.
Negligent supervision could be as simple as allowing a child to play on a busy street or not providing sufficient supervision in general.
Here are a few examples of places where negligent supervision often happens:
- Daycare
- School
- Busses
- Playgrounds
- Sports facilities
If you believe your child’s injury could have been avoided with proper supervision, contact Brauns Law Accident Injury Lawyers, PC for a free case review now.
Most Common Causes of Child Injuries
One of the reasons we must protect our children is because they can get hurt in so many different ways.
The following are only some of the many common causes of child injuries:
Falling Injuries
These types of injuries happen all too often at daycare facilities and school playgrounds. School and daycare staff are obligated to provide safe areas for children to play, meaning they must routinely inspect and maintain their playground equipment, as well as provide safety mats that cushion falls. Failure to keep a playground area in a safe condition can leave the school or daycare liable for injuries that happen there.
Defective child products
Many children’s products and toys must be recalled each year by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Unfortunately, defective products still exist on the market and present a risk of harm to children.
The following is a brief list of faulty products one may find, and that might injury your child:
- Child seats, including high chairs
- Strollers
- Children’s toys and games
- Kid clothing
- Faulty playground equipment
- Cribs
Proving a product is defective requires one to definitively show a defect in the original design or manufacturing process. A product is defective if the labeling fails to warn customers of known dangers.
Child Injuries From Traffic Accidents
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of child injuries and fatalities in the United States. The most deadly traffic accidents are truck accidents and sports utility vehicle (SUV) rollovers. These types of injuries and other serious traffic crashes can result in broken bones and injuries to the brain, neck, spinal cord, and face.
Drowning
A report by the American Association of Pediatrics (AAP) cites drowning as a leading cause of child fatalities. Still, you may be surprised to learn that most children survive drowning accidents, but at a steep cost. Often, these drownings result in permanent injuries.
Anyone seeking to swim in a lake, ocean, or swimming pool should know basic water safety rules. Drowning deaths and injuries are a consistent problem nationwide because many people are not familiar with basic water safety.
Consider these drowning-related statistics by the AAP:
- Ten Americans drown each day on average.
- Drowning is the second most common accidental death for children under the age of 14.
- Boys drown more than girls (a ratio of four to one).
- Most child drownings are caused by a lack of supervision.
Other Accidents
Other accidents that harm children include:
- Accidents on buses
- Pedestrian accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Sports-related accidents
- Animal bites
- Location hazards, such as stairs, balconies, furniture, sharp objects, and cribs
- Falls
- Incidents involving heat, such as dehydration, heatstroke, or exhaustion
Types of Child Injury Cases We Handle
Few things are as distressing as an injury to a child. Often, another party’s negligence can result in permanent disabilities and other setbacks that can last a lifetime. Child injury cases involve an experienced child injury lawyer, who can assess the physical, mental, and emotional needs of the child to make sure they are cared for now and in the future. Your child deserves a lawyer who will seek compensation for these damages to help them recover throughout their life.
At Brauns Law Accident Injury Lawyers, PC, we take on any child injury cases in which the injury is a result of the negligence of another, including:
- Medical negligence injuries
- Burn-related injuries
- Broken bones
- Spinal cord injuries
- Brain trauma
- Bicycling and pedestrian accidents
- Injuries arising from motor vehicle accidents
- Injuries at school or daycare
- Child abuse by any adult, including teachers and coaches
- Assaults that could have been prevented with adequate security
These types of child injuries are just a sampling of the types of cases we take on. If the carelessness and negligence of another party inflicted harm upon a child, we want to help that child recover.
Do I Have a Child Injury Case?
Contact Brauns Law Accident Injury Lawyers, PC today at 404-418-8244 or contact us online. Child injury cases are a serious matter, and you deserve the best child injury lawyer in Atlanta. We can answer all of your questions.
Most importantly, we can evaluate your case to see if you are eligible for financial compensation for damages.
Child Injury FAQ
Here are some answers to frequently asked questions we often receive.
The short answer is yes. Georgia law allows parents to file a wrongful death claim on behalf of their deceased child.
Parents may file two other claims as well:
- Claims on behalf of the child’s estate – These are claims the child could have made because of their injuries.
- Claims for expenses – These expenses include medical bills and funeral costs.
Parents can also file wrongful death claims for adult children with no surviving spouse or children of their own. In this case, parents can pursue what is called the “full value of the life” of their child, which includes their expected lifetime earnings, among other factors.
You may wonder how someone can assign a “value” to the life of a child. While a child’s life is priceless, the law states that the value of a wrongful death claim can be determined by accounting for the child’s age, gender, health, most-likely educational achievement, and their expected life expectancy.
Generally, the parents of the child retain control over the financial reward. The court understands that minors, especially young children, are not mature enough for the responsibility that comes with a large financial settlement. For that reason, Georgia law employs statutes that prevent a minor from gaining control over settlement earnings, and instead require a conservator to be appointed. The conservator is an adult who has a legal obligation to protect and manage the settlement funds for the child until they become a legal adult at the age of 18.
The conservator may not spend the child’s money without the court’s approval. They must inform the court why they need the money and outline for the court the plan for spending it. Simply put, the court appoints a conservator as a safeguard to protect the child’s money, but that conservator cannot spend any of the funds without the court’s oversight.
Brauns Law Accident Injury Lawyers, PC has experience representing children who suffer severe injuries due to negligent acts of another party. Many times, these children will need medical care for several years or even a lifetime. Future medical needs, and how to pay for them, are a primary concern of most parents.
We address this problem by presenting comprehensive damage packages during trial or negotiations. Included in the damages we submit is a detailed list of the child’s future medical needs. We obtain this information from the medical professionals who are caring for your child, and from the parents as well. The medical team could include pediatricians, physical therapy specialists, and surgeons. They can give a realistic assessment of the future medical needs of the child.
Additionally, parents can also assist the process with more helpful information. For example, most parents understand the need for out-patient or in-home care, as well as support services and products, for their children.
After working with the medical professionals and parents, we put great thought and planning into these assessments, and factor in every item before resolving a child injury case.
Georgia Statute of Limitations for Child Injury Cases
Georgia Code § 9-3-90 states that anyone who was a minor at the time of an accident has four years from the date of the accident to file a claim, with some exceptions. It’s a good idea to file earlier rather than later, as evidence has a way of disappearing, and memories of accident details can become murky.
We Work on Contingency
We understand that if the actions or inactions of another party result in injuries to a child, the parents are likely to bear serious physical, emotional, and financial burdens. Naturally, they want to seek justice and receive compensation from the liable party.
Unfortunately, some attorneys make seeking compensation more financially challenging than it should be. Some lawyers require a flat fee to represent you, but that doesn’t make a lot of sense. How can an injured child’s family pay for attorney fees when they’re now dealing with medical bills and lost employment wages, among other expenses?
At Brauns Law Accident Injury Lawyers, PC, we work on a contingency fee basis, allowing you to secure the best legal service to help you pursue financial compensation. Working on contingency means we don’t apply any fees unless we win compensation for you and your child. In other words, we bear all the risk. If we take on your case, you can be sure we are confident in our ability to win a settlement or verdict on your behalf.
