Learning that their child has been seriously injured in an accident is every parent’s worst nightmare. Sadly, that nightmare comes true for far too many families every year. If your family is facing this situation, you may have questions about your legal options and how to protect your child’s best interests.
If your child was injured due to the misconduct of another adult, you could take legal action on your child’s behalf and demand compensation for their injury-related losses. This type of civil claim can be immensely challenging to pursue without a compassionate personal injury attorney’s support. Contacting a Pensacola child injury lawyer from our team to discuss your legal options should be among your top priorities.
Are Adults Always Liable for Injuries to Children?
It is easy to assume that any adult involved in an accident that injures a young child holds at least some legal responsibility for that child’s injuries and subsequent losses. In reality, you have the same burden of proof when suing over a child’s injury that you would have when suing over any other injury. You cannot recover compensation unless you can satisfactorily prove to a civil court that a specific person was directly at fault for your child’s accident.
This generally entails showing through available evidence that the most likely cause of your child’s accident was a specific reckless or careless action by the person you are suing, breaching the duty of care they owed to your child. As a Pensacola child injury attorney could further explain, a duty of care can change depending on the circumstances, but it usually takes the form of an implicit obligation to act responsibly. For example, drivers have an obligation to follow traffic laws and pay attention behind the wheel.
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Rules for Filing a Civil Suit on a Minor’s Behalf
As your child’s parent or legal guardian, you can seek compensation in your child’s name for any physical trauma they have suffered. This could include economic damages, such as medical bills and lost future working capacity, as well as various non-economic forms of pain and suffering. It is not just possible but often vital to account for losses that you could reasonably expect to occur years or even decades into the future. This is something our child accident lawyers in Pensacola could provide invaluable assistance with.
That said, it is worth mentioning that Florida state law sets strict restrictions on how parents and guardians can act when suing on a minor’s behalf, primarily to ensure that they always act solely in their child’s best interests rather than for their own financial or personal gain. Most notably, state law requires a court to establish legal guardianship if a child’s injury claim is settled on their behalf for more than $15,000, and explicit court approval is required for settlements valued at over $50,000.
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Contact a Pensacola Attorney About Your Child’s Injury Case
No child should suffer an injury with lifelong repercussions, and certainly not because an adult acted irresponsibly around them. However, if your child has been harmed through someone else’s misconduct, it may fall to you as their parent or legal guardian to seek fair financial restitution for the losses they have experienced.
A Pensacola child injury lawyer could help. Our attorneys will treat your family like our own from start to finish, working tirelessly to get your child the best possible outcome. Call us today to learn more.
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