Protecting Your Child’s Future: Legal Advice for Parents of Injured Children

The last thing any parent wants to dwell on is the idea of their child being injured. However, even if you’re a cautious parent who strives to protect your children from harm, they may still be injured in random accidents as well as instances resulting from the negligence of other parties.

In some instances, injured children may be eligible to receive compensation for their medical bills and other losses resulting from their injuries. This may be an option if a child’s injuries resulted from someone else’s actions or carelessness. In circumstances where strict liability or a breach of warranty applies, such as in product liability cases, a child and their family may be eligible for compensation even if there is no provable negligence, but it can be shown that a violation of an relevant standard or product defect applies.

It’s important to understand the legal rights of you and your child when they’ve sustained avoidable injuries. The following tips will help you better navigate the situation when your child is hurt:

Prioritize Medical Care

Ensuring your child receives proper medical attention when they’ve been injured is your top priority as a parent. In fact, even if your child claims they don’t feel hurt, if they’ve been involved in any incident that could have potentially resulted in harm, they need to see a doctor. Some types of injuries, like concussions, don’t always result in immediately noticeable symptoms.

Document your child’s medical care and expenses from the start. If your child is eligible for compensation, you may need to submit copies of medical documentation with an insurance claim to indicate to an insurance company why your child deserves the amount of compensation you’re asking for.

Report All Incidents

Official accident reports and similar forms of documentation can play critical roles in personal injury cases. Depending on how your child was injured, there are various ways you may ensure an official report exists.

Perhaps you were driving when a collision resulting in injury to your child occurred. If so, you should call the police to report the crash, even if the damage appears to be fairly minor.

Or, maybe your child was injured at school. File an official report with the school in these circumstances. If your child was hurt in a slip and fall or similar incident at a retail store or other such setting, coordinate with management to file a report.

However, it’s important to exercise caution when speaking with anyone involved in filing your report. For example, making statements that could be misinterpreted to indicate your child’s own negligence may have played a role in their injuries could reduce the amount of compensation they’re eligible to receive.

In addition, some parties (like management at a retail store) may ask you to sign liability waivers or other such forms. Be very wary of signing any forms or documents without first reviewing them with a legal professional.

Other steps to take shortly after your child has been hurt include:

• Taking pictures of the accident scene to document any conditions that may have contributed to your child’s injuries
• Getting the names and contact information of witnesses at the scene
• If necessary (such as in the case of a motor vehicle wreck), exchanging contact and insurance information with other parties involved in the accident

Of course, when filing an incident report, you should thoroughly review the details to confirm they’re accurate. Request that corrections be made as soon as you identify inaccuracies.

Speak With an Attorney

You may not know whether your child is eligible to receive compensation. Unless you’re familiar with the applicable laws, you might not be certain you have grounds to file a claim or lawsuit.

This is one of many reasons to strongly consider speaking with a lawyer shortly after your child has been injured. At Swartz & Swartz, P.C., a Boston personal injury attorney will review the facts of your case and provide more information about potential legal options. If we agree to take on your case, other ways we may help include (but aren’t limited to):

• Investigating the circumstances that resulted in your child’s injuries
• Identifying the liable parties
• Gathering evidence of liability
• Documenting your child’s injuries, medical bills, and other such losses for which they may receive compensation
• Completing and submitting claim paperwork by all applicable deadlines
• Reviewing settlement offers from the insurance company to determine if they’re fair
• Negotiating a settlement if the initial offer is too low
• If necessary, going to court to pursue damages

Those are general benefits of working with a lawyer. At our Massachusetts personal injury firm, we’ll tailor our approach to the specifics of your case. Learn more about what we can do for you by contacting us online or calling us at (617) 742-1900 today to set up your free case review.

Need Help?

If you or someone you know, needs help from a lawyer, contact the law offices of Swartz & Swartz, use our live chat, or send us a message using the form below and we’ll get in touch to assess your case and how we can help.