As a parent, when your child gets injured, you can feel at a complete loss. After all, your main job is keeping them safe, though this is often nearly impossible to tackle on your own. This is why most parents rely on other people to help keep their kids safe from harm.
When one of those people is negligent, reckless, or even malicious, and their behavior results in your child facing a severe injury, it is natural to want to hold that person accountable for their actions. As a compassionate personal injury attorney can explain, severe injuries can be expensive, and to get your child the best care, you may need to hold the wrongdoer financially responsible. A Mankato child injury lawyer from Maschka, Riedy, Ries & Frentz can help you explore options for your family.
Because children are curious, active, and may lack good judgment, there are many ways children may sustain injuries. It is impossible to completely child-proof an environment, but people are expected to act reasonably and take steps to prevent injuries to others. When the person is a child, the wrongdoer may owe them an even greater duty.
One of the leading causes of childhood injuries is medical malpractice. Whether a doctor commits malpractice while a mother is pregnant, during birth, or while providing medical care to the child, these injuries can have a profound effect on the child. Injuries that might be minor for adults could have devasting and long-lasting effects on children. Some injuries from medical malpractice include congenital disabilities, physical disabilities, and cognitive disabilities. Our Mankato legal team can help you investigate the child’s injury, bringing some order to the chaos that can accompany the harm sustained.
Car accidents are another major cause of childhood injuries. While all passengers are vulnerable in auto accidents, children are at an even higher risk. Not only are their small bodies more vulnerable to extreme forces than adult bodies, but automobiles are designed for adult passengers, not children. Automobile accidents may not always involve two or more vehicles. Sometimes, a driver will strike a child who is a pedestrian or riding a bicycle.
Age has a lot to do with a child’s risk factors for specific injuries. For example, drowning is a leading cause of death in toddlers and preschoolers but not in older age groups. Children may trespass onto property where they get access to a pool, hot tub, or other water source. A property owner may be liable, even if the child is a trespasser.
A tenacious lawyer could help families explore the circumstances of the injury and investigate potential claims. In some instances, multiple people may be responsible for the injury, and an attorney could identify a strategy to proceed with a claim.
Available damages in a child injury case depend on the economic and non-economic harm done to the child.
Economic damages include medical bills and lost wages. Even if a child is not working at the time of an injury, the damage award should include lost future earnings, loss of future earning capacity, and other factors that consider the impact of any physical or cognitive disabilities on the child’s future earning capacity.
Families can also recover for non-economic injuries to the child. Pain and suffering and emotional trauma accompany many childhood injuries. Additional damages can include things like disfigurement and loss of companionship. A Mankato child injury attorney can explain the range of potential noneconomic damages that may be available.
When your child is injured, you may feel overwhelmed. We are here to help you with that burden. We can help you get compensation for your child, and we are not afraid to take a case to court if necessary.
We seek to establish genuine relationships with our clients while still bringing the level of service that exceeds what you would expect from a Twin Cities firm. Schedule a consultation with a Mankato child injury lawyer today to learn more about your options.
