Boca Raton Child Injury Attorney
We Fight For Families
Being an accident victim as an adult is difficult. Being an accident victim as a child is far worse.
We recognize childhood involves the usual scrapes, bumps, and bruises. But it should not involve injuries caused by another person’s negligenceor recklessness. If your child was injured due to another’s fault, we are here to answer your questions and provide immediate legal assistance.
In the past, we have successfully worked on cases for clients whose children were involved in car accidents, pool accidents, and premises liability accidents.We bring compassionate, effective legal care to each case.
When children are involved in accidents, different legal principles can apply.Here are some of the most common issues and questions we encounter involving children’s injury cases.
What compensation can children recover?
Your child can recover compensation for various expenses. They include:
- Medical expenses, including surgical and hospital bills;
- Future medical expenses, including future surgery bills and rehabilitation expenses;
- Pain and suffering, including emotionaland post-traumatic stress; and,
- Punitive damages (where appropriate).
Additionally, parents can recover damages as well for loss of “filial consortium” when the injury involves a significant permanent injury. These damages include any loss of earnings or other economic loss relating to the need to care for the injured child and damages for loss of comfort and companionship.
Can children be comparatively negligent?
Comparative negligence is a partial legal defense that reduces the amount of damages a plaintiff can recover in a negligence case. For example, if a jury finds that a plaintiff is 50% responsible for causing an accident, then the plaintiff’s damages would be reduced by 50%.
Under Florida law, children under 6 years old cannot be comparatively negligent. So a 6 year old (or younger) child cannot be blamed for causing an accident.
What if I, the parent, was close to my child when the accident happened?
We have been involved in claims where parentswere nearby when an accident happened to their child. Naturally, parents may blame themselves. But this is not an absolute defense.
Under Florida law, a parent’s failure to supervise is typically a question of fact for the jury – not an absolute defense.So this does not bar the child injury claim.
Who brings the lawsuit on behalf of the child?
Under Florida law, a parent or guardian serves as the party who brings the claim for the child.
Will my child have to give a deposition?
This is a sensitive subject. Under Florida law (and law from other jurisdictions), your child will likely have to give his or her deposition.
For example, in Akhnoukh v. Benvenuto, 219 So. 3d 96 (Fla. 2d DCA 2017), Florida’s Second District Court of Appeals held that an 8 year old boy had to give his deposition because he wasa material witness to his mother’s personal injury case.
However, the deposition will be subject to certain safeguards and protections. For example, the deposition should be significantly shorter than a traditional deposition, frequent breaks must be allowed, and the topics of the deposition should be limited.
Call A Boca Raton Child Injury Attorney
As a father to two young daughters, I understand the importance of their health and safety. It is my promise to providecaring, compassionate, and effective legal representation for your child and family.
If your child was hurt in an accident as a result of another’s negligence, call the Boca Raton personal injury law firm of Barthelette Law today, at (561) 246-4137. Or you can contact us through our website at: https://barthelettelaw.com/contact-us/
Contact
Phone
Address
1900 Corporate Blvd NW
Suite 215 East
Boca Raton, FL 33431