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.
