Accidental injuries can happen to anyone at any time. However, minors seem to be particularly susceptible to unexpected injuries. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that in a single year, 9.2 million children ages 0 to 19 received treatment in emergency rooms for accidental injuries. Additionally, more than 12,000 children tragically died as a result of injuries.

It is devastating for any parent to learn of an injury to their child. The priority should always be to get your child the medical diagnosis and treatment they need for the most favorable prognosis possible. Once your child is in stable condition, you should then learn about your legal rights and options in the wake of the accident.

At Brauns Law Accident Injury Lawyers, PC, we represent injured clients of all ages – including children and their parents. We can help in a variety of situations involving minor injuries, disabling injuries, or fatal injuries. Our compassionate attorneys know how to provide the legal support and representation your family needs, so please do not hesitate to contact our personal injury firm to discuss your specific situation.

Common Accidents for Children

Children do not always recognize the risks of certain decisions or actions. Additionally, many children may become victims of the negligent acts of others whom you trusted to care for your child and keep them safe. The following are only some common ways that children get hurt.

Bicycle accidents. Learning to ride a bicycle is a rite of passage for many children. Once a child learns to ride on their own, they may take their bike around the neighborhood, to a friend’s house, or may even ride to and from school on a daily basis. Anytime your child rides a bike near a roadway, they are at risk of getting hurt in a bicycle collision.

Though drivers in Georgia should always share the road with cyclists, many drivers act negligently in ways that lead them to crash into someone on a bicycle. This can include:

  • Not obeying traffic signals
  • Not checking mirrors before pulling out of a parking spot or opening a door

Even if a parent reviews every possible safety tip for their child when riding a bicycle, they still cannot stop drivers from acting negligently and colliding with their child.

Bicycle accident injuries can be severe, as a child has little to protect them from the moving car. Even a helmet cannot provide complete protection from head trauma and brain injuries. Children in bicycle accidents often must deal with a variety of traumatic injuries and a long recovery time.

Pedestrian accidents. The risks of pedestrian accidents for children are similar to the risks of a bicycle accident. Once a child is old enough to walk down the street or play outside on their own, they are at risk of pedestrian accidents. Drivers may be distracted, impaired, fatigued, or may violate traffic laws and may crash into a young pedestrian. These accidents can happen to children on the sidewalk, in parking lots, or even when crossing the street in a crosswalk.

Children walking have even less protection from injuries than on bicycles. When a 3,000-pound car crashes into a little body, you can imagine the range of traumatic injuries that may result. Such injuries can include:

  • Disfigurement
  • Internal injuries

School bus injuries. Many parents send their children to school on the bus, which transportation agencies consider to be one of the safest vehicles on our roadways. The reputation for safety does not change the fact that school bus accidents and injuries do happen, and your child could be a victim.

School bus-related injuries can happen in a number of ways, including:

  • The bus collides with another vehicle or object
  • The bus rolls over onto its side
  • Your child suffers injuries while boarding or exiting the school bus
  • Your child suffers injuries due to inadequate supervision on the bus

Whether your child sustained injuries in a bicycle accident, pedestrian accident, bus accident, or any other type of traffic accident, the law firm of Brauns Law Accident Injury Lawyers, PC, can review what happened and evaluate your rights to compensation.

How an Injury Can Affect Your Child’s Life

While many people may think of children as more resilient than adults, you should remember that a child’s body is still developing and certain injuries can affect them in severe ways. For example, if a child fractures their ankle, they may fracture their growth plate and may need multiple surgeries to ensure their bones grow properly. A brain injury can result in unexpected and lasting effects for children, due to the brain not being fully developed.

Injuries to children can cause many losses, including:

  • Expenses for emergency room visits, hospitalization, physical therapy, and all other types of medical treatment
  • Time away from school, including being held back or having to attend a special school
  • Lost future opportunities due to lasting cognitive or physical impairments
  • Physical pain and suffering
  • Mental trauma, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
  • Permanent disabilities or disfigurement

If another party caused your child’s injuries, that party should compensate your child and your family for all losses incurred. Negligent parties can include drivers, teachers, schools, companies, and more. To ensure you receive the full financial recovery your family deserves, you should seek assistance from an attorney familiar with Georgia laws regarding injuries to children.

Duluth Child Injury FAQ

At Brauns Law Accident Injury Lawyers, PC Accident injury Firm, we know the common questions that parents have about their legal rights and the process of seeking justice on behalf of their injured children. Our knowledgeable Duluth child injury lawyers answer many child injury FAQs below.

Remember that each case is different, and these are general answers. If your child suffered an injury due to a person or party’s negligence, we encourage you to contact our firm for a free consultation about the specific facts and issues in your case. Simply call our office or contact us online.

Many events and circumstances can result in the injury of a child. Our skilled Duluth child injury lawyers provide effective legal representation in some of Georgia’s most common child injury cases:

Dangerous products. During a product’s design or manufacturing phase, companies have a duty to think about and foresee the possible dangers that their products might pose to children. If they don’t, they could be held liable for any serious injuries and deaths their defective products cause. Our law firm represents clients in product liability claims involving many hazardous products to children.

For example:

  • Motor vehicles
  • Airbags
  • Seat belts
  • Bicycles
  • Toys
  • Baby products and equipment
  • Products containing lead paint
  • Dangerous drugs
  • Hoverboards
  • Flammable fabrics
  • Defective medical devices

Infant and child car seats are often especially dangerous for children. Even though these products are supposed to protect them, far too often, child restraint systems are poorly designed or manufactured. Instead of preventing child injuries as they should, they may substantially contribute to them.

Motor vehicle accidents. As with all passengers, children are at risk of serious injury or even death in motor vehicle collisions involving cars, trucks, motorcycles, pedestrians, school buses, and public transportation. In fact, children are especially vulnerable to sustaining injuries and having more significant injuries due to their size.

Dog bites. Children can also sustain injuries from dog bites or attacks. Sometimes they can be quite severe, leading to complications such as infections or nerve damage. They can also cause scarring and disfigurement that can last a lifetime. Often, the emotional and unseen injuries they cause are worse than the physical ones.

A dog owner or handler must pay damages if both:

  • The bite or attack occurred because of “careless management or by allowing the animal to go at liberty.”
  • The injured party didn’t “provoke the injury by his own act.”

Injuries at playgrounds, schools, and daycares. Whether your child is at school, on a public playground, or at a daycare, other people and parties in these areas owe them a duty of care. They need to ensure that the environment is safe. If a daycare leaves toxic cleaners within reach of toddlers, doesn’t remove broken toys, or leaves a child unsupervised, they are negligent. The same is true if public playgrounds aren’t maintained and in good repair. Whether public or private, schools also have a duty to keep all areas safe and clean for children.

Our knowledgeable Duluth child injury lawyers have successfully represented dozens of child injury clients and their families. No matter what circumstances caused your child’s injury, we are here for you. We provide legal representation that is compassionate but aggressive to obtain fair compensation when appropriate. Call Brauns Law Accident Injury Lawyers, PC today to learn more about how we can help when your child is injured.

A minor child can’t file a lawsuit in their own name. However, a parent acting as the next friend of the child, or a representative approved by the court to act as a guardian of the child’s property rights can file a claim on their behalf.

Although you may pursue this type of claim in the same action, it’s separate from the claim parents have when their child is injured. There may be practical or strategic reasons to pursue the two claims separately, depending on the facts specific to the case. These separate claims also include different types of damages or losses.

The parents or legal guardians of an injured child have a claim to seek the necessary and reasonable medical expenses and other associated expenses that they have or will likely incur because of a child’s injuries before the child’s eighteenth birthday. Parents in Georgia also have a legal claim for “the loss of the services of the injured child.” Additionally, the injured child has a separate claim for all necessary and reasonable medical costs that the child will incur after reaching 18 years old.

Injured children can also pursue recovery for any decreased earning capacity or loss of future earnings that they will experience after reaching 18 years old.

The child’s legal rights include the right to recover damages for:

  • Temporary or permanent injury
  • Temporary or permanent impairment of any bodily function
  • Past, present, and future pain and suffering from their injury

Pain and suffering include both physical pain and mental anguish. Depending on the circumstances of the injury, punitive damages may also be recoverable. Whereas courts award compensable damages with the intent of helping the injured individual, the purpose of punitive damages is to punish the person who caused the injury and strongly discourage them and anyone else from taking the same actions in the future. However, punitive damages are only available in cases where the at-fault party acted extraordinarily reckless or deliberately.

The Duluth child injury lawyers at Brauns Law Accident Injury Lawyers, PC work closely with medical experts, life-care planners, economists, and other experts to determine the injuries the child sustained and the numerous types and amounts of damages that need compensation. They ensure that they seek full and fair compensation for the child and the parents in their respective cases.

Under Georgia law, an injured party must pursue their injury claim by filing a lawsuit in court within two years of the date on which the injury occurred. This window of time is called the statute of limitations.

The two-year deadline applies to any claim parents bring based on their child’s injury, such as a claim for medical expenses incurred before their child’s 18th birthday.

However, the child typically has until two years after they turn 18 (or until their 20th birthday) to file their own lawsuit. Note that different state laws and time limits apply if the minor’s injury resulted from medical malpractice.

Even though the statute of limitations may not start to run for several years on the child’s portion of the claim, it’s still preferable to act promptly after an injury. If there is a prolonged delay before seeking counsel from a Duluth child injury attorney, valuable evidence could be compromised, lost, or destroyed. Eyewitnesses might disappear or move away, records may disappear, and chances of financial recovery can fade or significantly diminish as a result.

Generally, if you believe that another person’s negligence caused your child’s injuries, you need to take action now. Don’t delay in reaching out to an experienced Duluth child injury lawyer. Child injury cases require time to research, investigate, and prepare carefully. You don’t want to lose a legitimate and valuable claim merely because of an unnecessary delay.

Parents may worry about involving their children in the legal process. The child might have already been through a traumatic experience. Parents and guardians alike could be worried about the child having to “relive” it in the process of pursuing litigation against those liable for their injuries. In addition, a child’s physical condition or scars can sometimes make them extremely self-conscious when they are in public.

At Brauns Law Accident Injury Lawyers, PC, we always do everything we can to shield a child from the rigors of the litigation process. Our well-versed Duluth child injury lawyers focus on your case so that you and your child have the necessary time and energy to focus on their recovery and health. Many times, a child’s involvement will be limited. However, other times, it’s essential to involve the child to make sure that we obtain full and fair compensation on your behalf.

It’s reasonable to anticipate that the child may be deposed, depending on their age and injuries. Being deposed means giving a statement under oath. The at-fault party’s legal counsel might question older children.

Although, if there are concerns about whether a deposition is suitable or what ground rules should apply, we can ask the court to determine what is appropriate before either side schedules any depositions. The court’s priority is to always carefully protect children in the legal process. Even if the court determines that a deposition is appropriate, your child’s Duluth child injury attorney will be with them throughout that process. It’s their job to ensure your child’s rights are completely protected.

Yes, as often as possible, when it is reasonable, our experienced Duluth child injury attorneys will resolve a claim through a negotiated settlement with the one or multiple parties who are liable for the child’s injuries and damages. In some cases, it could be necessary to file legal action first. Still, other child injury claims resolve without the need for litigation.

Settlements are often preferable for both sides as opposed to litigation. When the attorneys for both sides can negotiate a settlement, the claim is over sooner and costs less money. Both parties also have more control over the outcome of the case if they can settle.

Going to court can be risky for the insurance company. Juries often side with victims, and the insurance company could end up owing much more than if they had negotiated a settlement. At the same time, injured individuals also take a risk by going to court as the jury could side with the insurance company. They could receive less compensation than if they had agreed to a settlement, or they may not receive any compensation at all.

Typically, a Duluth child injury lawyer will negotiate with legal counsel for the at-fault party’s insurance carrier to reach a fair settlement for the child’s claim as well as the parents’ claim. Depending on the size of the child’s total compensation, Georgia law may require that either the court approves the settlement. In addition, depending on the settlement’s size, the monies might need to be subject to supervision by the county probate court in which the child resides.

In compliance with Georgia law, settlements of more than $15,000 are subject to court supervision to properly protect and manage those funds until the child reaches 18. Annual reports will need to show proper handling of the funds. Our Duluth child injury attorneys cautiously handle the negotiation and structuring of child settlements to ensure compliance with Georgia law and protect injured minors in civil proceedings.

Our reputable Duluth child injury attorneys work on contingency fees only, meaning that if we don’t settle your case or receive a court award for your injuries, you don’t owe us anything. We don’t charge for initial case consultations, and we don’t collect any fees or charges upfront. If and when we obtain compensation on your behalf, we will receive a percentage for our work.

As a parent, there is nothing worse than someone who causes harm to your child. If your child suffered an injury due to the negligence of another, the Duluth child injury attorneys at Brauns Law Accident Injury Lawyers, PC are prepared to help you hold the responsible parties liable for the damages they have caused. Give us a call today to schedule your free case consultation.