If your young child was recently involved in an accident, you know all too well how devastating and upsetting this kind of situation can be not just for your child, but for you as well as everyone else who cares for them. You may also have many questions about what legal rights you have and whether you may have grounds to pursue civil restitution from the person who is responsible for your child’s injuries and subsequent losses.
Guidance from a Peoria child injury lawyer is vital to helping you understand your options and to making the most effective use of them possible. Regardless of what type of accident your child was involved in or what “damages” your family needs to recover for, our compassionate personal injury attorneys will fight tenaciously on your behalf to get you paid what you deserve, even if that means going all the way to litigation in a civil courtroom. Learn more by reaching out to Phillips Law Group today.
Who Can Sue on an Injured Child’s Behalf?
Children can get hurt in many of the same ways adults can — from car accidents, slips and falls, dog bites, medical malpractice, defective products, and more.
In theory, a person who violates a “duty of care” they owe to someone else and causes that other person to suffer an injury as a direct result holds civil liability for that injury’s consequences regardless of how young or old the injured person is. In practice, though, children under the age of 18 do not have legal standing in Arizona to represent themselves in court, which means they cannot serve as the “plaintiff” in a personal injury claim the same way an adult could after a serious accident.
Instead, the right to file suit generally passes to the child’s parent(s) or legal guardian(s), or occasionally — if there is no parent or guardian available — to someone appointed by a court to represent the child’s best interests as their guardian ad litem. Either way, the person with standing to sue on the injured child’s behalf can take legal action as if they were the child and seek compensation based on the child’s injuries and losses — a process a seasoned Peoria child accident attorney can provide vital assistance with.
Recovering Comprehensively Within Filing Deadlines
Legal counsel can also assist with identifying, assigning a fair value to, and proactively demanding compensation for every form of harm a child’s injury will cause them to suffer. Since young children are often especially susceptible to sustaining long-term and potentially debilitating injuries in traumatic accidents, it is important in situations like this to account for both short-term and long-term damages like:
- Emergency medical expenses and expected future care costs, including for things like physical therapy, prescription medications, and assistive equipment such as wheelchairs
- Lost future working and earning capacity
- Costs of around-the-clock care, or lost wages/salary for a parent or guardian who must leave work to care for their disabled child
- Physical pain and suffering
- Emotional anguish and psychological trauma
- Lost enjoyment/quality of life
Perhaps most importantly, a child injury lawyer in Peoria from Phillips Law Group can help construct a strong and thorough claim within applicable filing deadlines. Parents and guardians suing on a minor child’s behalf typically have two years after their child first gets hurt to file suit, but in some situations, the child can alternatively file suit themselves from the day they turn 18 up to the day they turn 20.
Discuss Your Legal Options With a Peoria Child Injury Attorney
Ideally, no child would ever have to experience any kind of harm due solely to an adult acting irresponsibly around them. In reality, however, accidents involving minor children unfortunately happen every day in Arizona, and if your family has been affected by one, it may fall to you to take proactive legal action in your child’s name.
That is where an experienced Peoria child injury lawyer can step in and help you get the most favorable result possible from your claim. Call Phillips Law Group today for a free and confidential consultation. Our trusted local team has been serving the area for over three decades and is confident we can provide you with the care and legal advocacy you need.
You are under no obligation to work with us after your initial meeting, and you owe us nothing if we don’t ultimately win your case. Please don’t hesitate to contact our office today to learn more!
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