It is a sad thing for every parent to see their child seriously injured. In this situation, you will experience anger, sadness, and guilt. However, it is not in anyone’s power to fix things. But the law allows the victims to take legal action against the erring parties for recovery of compensation for their injuries. If you and your loved ones are injured in a car accident, you have the right to do personal injury claim against the negligent driver for recovery of compensation.
If your child is injured in an accident, then the parent or his loved one always has the right to take legal action. However, you will need the help of an experienced personal injury claim lawyer for this task.
Can I File a Lawsuit on My Child’s Behalf?
Two-Part Cases
Claims against the hurting party are usually presented in two parts. The first part will actually be your claims against the person as the parent of the injured child. This covers the costs involved in caring for your child’s injury, such as medical treatment, medical care, and long-term medical therapy. After the injury of your little one, you will have to bear this cost, so you can claim for it. In addition, any legal costs associated with pursuing claims will be considered part of your personal lawsuit, not your child’s.
According to the second part, you can also claim for the loss which is personal to the child. This would include complaints such as deformity, physical infirmity, or aches and pains. However, because a child cannot file a lawsuit on their own, you can act as their representative and bring those claims against the injured party on their behalf.
Settlement fund
In case the injured child receives a settlement or award of money, the amount will be apportioned. As a parent, you will be pre-determined for medical bills, attorney’s fees, and other claims for which you filed personal injury claims. The remaining amount will be allocated for your child. However, because the funds belong only to your injured child, they cannot be given solely to you.
The funds received by the child are kept in the trust account of the funds. This trust is usually maintained by the court, where the deposit will continue to earn interest until the child reaches the age of 18 years.
Quick-release of funds
The parents can file a petition to release a part or full of the settlement money to the child. However, this will be done by the court only if the court agrees that those funds are being released in the best interest of the child. That’s because those settlement funds in the trust are viewed solely as those of the child, and the court does not allow the child’s funds to be used for the financial gain of the loved one.
If your child is injured in an accident, contact the personal injury law office. We can help you file a legal case against the party responsible for the incident so that you can get compensation for the expenses associated with your child’s injury, some financial support for the pain your child has endured by them. While we know that no amount can really fix what happened to your baby but we want to help you fix those things.
