With the help of a Walterboro child injury lawyer, you gain the knowledge and confidence to know what to do when your child is hurt by someone else’s negligence. The rage, fear, and frustration you may be facing right now can be challenging, and a Walterboro personal injury lawyer is here to answer your questions. With the help of our Walterboro child injury lawyer at the Shelly Leeke Law Firm, we will work with you to get results and make those who hurt your loved one accountable, which we have been doing for more than 10 years.
You Need a Trusted Child Injury Attorney Ready to Fight for You
As a parent, it can be devastating when your child is hurt in an accident. It is even worse when that accident could have been prevented. When your child has been seriously hurt in an accident, they have legal rights.
Like anyone else, your child’s future is on the line. You want them to have the best level of care possible. At the same time, you need to be sure that those who hurt your child are held accountable.
The best person to have in your child’s corner is a Walterboro personal injury lawyer. At Shelly Leeke Law Firm, we fight to ensure that you and your child receive the just compensation you deserve. Set up a free consultation with our child injury attorneys now to discuss your case.
If You Do Not Win, You Pay Nothing
We know that for families, the thought of investing in an attorney can seem daunting, yet there is no upfront cost to you when working with our team. If you do not win your case, you owe us nothing for the work we put into your case. There is no risk to contact us. Request a free consultation, and put us to work on your child’s case, so be sure to read our results to learn more.
Common Causes of Child Injuries
One of the most common causes of child injuries is falling, and you can prevent your child from falling out of a window. There are nearly 8,000 children who visit the emergency room for injuries caused by a fall each day. This totals up to 2.8 million children annually.
Another common cause of child injuries is motor vehicle accidents. Motor vehicle accidents can cause serious damage to adults. With children whose bones are still developing, the damage from an accident can be fatal.
Other common causes of child injuries involve drowning, poisoning, and suffocation. When left unattended, children can experience fatal injuries from drowning or poisoning when exposed to substances like household cleaners and medications. Suffocation accidents can happen when babies are not properly placed on their backs or children choke on toys or small objects.
Dangers of Child Injuries
Child injuries can have lifelong consequences for children and their families. According to the Leading Causes of Fatal and Nonfatal Unintentional Injury for Children and Teens, every hour, one child dies from an injury. Every four seconds, a child is transferred to the emergency department for treatment for an injury.
Children can suffer instant death from preventable accidents that they’ve been involved in. If they happen to survive, they are at risk of suffering from permanent injuries for the rest of their lives. Consider some of the complications that come from serious accidents impacting children at a young age:
- Cognitive development limitations
- Mobility loss and limitations
- Development of chronic pain and suffering
- Changes to vision or hearing
- Disfigurement
- Inability to do things they used to love to do
- Depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder
Your Child’s Legal Rights After an Injury
Children are just like any other personal injury victim in that they deserve to be compensated after being injured by another person’s carelessness. However, the process for filing a claim will be more complex. Because children are minors, they cannot take legal action against another party.
This is where you, the parent or the legal guardian, come in. You have the right to file a claim on your child’s behalf. That means that, legally, you have to be on top of your game and do what is in your child’s best interest.
This may be the first time you’ve ever filed a child injury claim. You may not be familiar with how to navigate the legal process. Working with a child injury attorney in Walterboro, SC, can give your child the best chances of seeking compensation, and you can find more information in our frequently asked questions section.
Important Factors in a Child Injury Claim
We strongly encourage anyone with a child who has been hurt to speak to a personal injury attorney before moving forward with any claim. There are numerous laws and limitations that could impact your ability to recover damages. With your child’s injury claim, there are two factors that you must consider:
- Negligence. You must be able to prove the other party’s negligence and how it directly affected your child.
- Damages. You must be able to prove the damages that your child has experienced because of the other party’s negligence.
Negligence is harder to prove than it sounds. For negligence to be established, the other party’s actions must be met through several elements. It’s also difficult to determine the accurate compensation your child will need.
Permanent Injuries Create a Lifelong Level of Suffering
If your child’s injuries are permanent, they may need enough compensation for lifelong medical assistance. There is also a possibility that your child’s injuries can become more serious as time goes on. Our attorneys want to ensure your child receives full and fair compensation for any losses.
How a Child Injury Lawyer in Walterboro, SC, Can Help
Child injury attorneys are the best legal representatives for your child. They are skilled enough in handling child injury claims and can prepare you and your child for the best outcome. Our attorneys are uniquely qualified to provide exceptional legal support in these types of cases.
A Walterboro child injury attorney can help you determine the parties who are liable for your child’s accident. You may discover that several parties should be held liable for your child’s accident. Child injury lawyers in Walterboro can help establish the negligence of several parties.
Your child injury lawyer can also estimate your child’s damages. Your child may be entitled to several different damages. Medical bills, pain, suffering, and emotional distress are some of the damages that can be included in your child’s claim.
Calculating Damages in a Child Injury Case
A child injury lawyer in Walterboro, SC, can calculate your child’s present and future damages. If there’s a possibility that your child’s injuries can become permanent, your attorney can factor that into your claim. With the help of our Walterboro child injury attorneys, we can be sure you file a claim that is robust enough to handle all of the child’s needs well into the future.
Seeking Compensation on Behalf of Your Injured Child
In a child injury claim, you are not the only one worried about the child’s best interests. The judge will consider whether the resolution of the claim is in the child’s best interest. That includes whether the claim will be resolved through a settlement or a trial verdict.
If your child’s injury claim is resolved through a settlement, your child’s compensation will be stored in a special account until the child is 18. The compensation will then be released. With settlement agreements, insurance adjusters will offer low-ball settlements – even to injured children.
Insurance adjusters want to avoid paying out as many claims as possible. A Walterboro child injury lawyer can negotiate for the best settlement. Your lawyer can ensure that your child receives the best settlement agreement instead of what insurance companies deem “fair.”
Legal Protection for Your Child
Child injury lawyers are familiar with the tactics that insurance companies use. Some insurance adjusters will even go so far as to ask your child about the nature of their accident. Your child injury attorney in Walterboro, SC, can answer all questions related to your child’s accident and protect your child from insurance adjusters.
The Statute of Limitations Is a Concern
You have only three years from the date of the injury to file a claim for compensation. If you wait too long, the valuable and often much-needed financial compensation owed to your child may be inaccessible. We encourage you to contact our Walterboro child injury attorney today to ensure you get the legal support you need during this very difficult time, and you can learn more in our guidebook for South Carolina accident victims.
Contact a Child Injury Attorney from the Shelly Leeke Law Firm Today
When another person’s negligence has hurt your child, speak with a child injury attorney from the Shelly Leeke Law Firm. Our Walterboro child injury lawyer understands the pain that your family is going through. Schedule a free initial consultation by calling our office or filling out our contact form today.
