Victorville Child Injury Lawyer

Every parent’s worst nightmare is their child getting hurt in an accident they cannot prevent—and unfortunately, that nightmare becomes a reality all too often. If you are dealing with this situation, understanding what legal rights you have to seek financial compensation on your child’s behalf could be crucial to protecting their long-term interests.

Guidance from a Victorville child injury lawyer could be essential to proactively and effectively enforcing your rights. From start to finish of your legal proceedings, a compassionate personal injury attorney could help you build the strongest case possible and ensure your family gets the compensation you deserve.

Holding an Adult Liable for Injuring a Child

In some ways, lawsuits and settlement demands based on an injury sustained by a minor child work the same as cases built around an injury to an adult, most notably in the role negligence plays in the proceedings. Just like an adult would need to prove someone else’s reckless conduct directly led to their injury to hold that person liable for losses, a parent or guardian pursuing litigation on their kid’s behalf would need to establish legal negligence in the same way.

However, adults can sometimes be liable for injuring a child through negligence when they would not be responsible for injuring an adult under the same circumstances. For instance, landowners in the state typically owe almost no duty of care towards people trespassing on their land, but they may bear liability for injuries sustained by trespassing children drawn onto that land by an unsecured attractive nuisance, such as construction equipment or a swimming pool. A child accident attorney in Victorville could go into further detail during a private meeting about what situations may or may not justify litigation.

Special Rules for Child Injury Settlements in Victorville

Another key difference between child injury cases and adult injury lawsuits is that state law requires injured children have legal representation during cases of this nature. More specifically, an injured child will be assigned a guardian ad litem to represent the child’s best interests in court and sign documents on their behalf. This person can seek compensation for both past and future losses the child will experience, such as:

• Medical expenses
• Physical pain and discomfort
• Lost future working capacity
• Lost quality of life
• Emotional distress and trauma

As a child injury lawyer in Victorville could affirm, the guardian ad litem must give their approval before such a case can end in a private settlement. A family must put any funds granted through a settlement into one of a few specific types of investments until the child comes of age to take possession of it.

Consider Working with a Victorville Child Injury Attorney

Adding civil litigation to your plate immediately after an accident that leaves your child injured may understandably be the last thing you want to think about. Holding the person who hurt your child accountable for their misconduct through civil litigation could significantly lessen the impact this experience has on your family for years to come.

A Victorville child injury lawyer is ready to guide you through every stage of your settlement negotiations or lawsuit in civil court. Call now to learn more about your legal options.