Albany Child Injury Lawyer

What To Do if Your Child is Injured in an Accident in New York

If your child suffers major injuries in any kind of accident, you may feel so overwhelmed with emotion that you don’t know what to do. A huge adrenaline rush can certainly cloud your rational judgment, making you feel confused about how to correctly respond. Make sure to follow the steps below in order to protect both yourself and your child.

• Seek Immediate Medical Attention, whether that means calling 911 or going straight to the emergency room. Not only is this step crucial in saving the child’s life, but it will also create evidence of the accident or injury. 
• Gather Crucial Evidence: Not only are police reports and medical records important pieces of evidence for lawsuits, but so are pictures and witness statements. Take pictures of the car, product, playground equipment, etc. that injured your child when you can. You can take pictures of the injuries as well. If anyone saw the accident or injury happen, make sure to ask for their name and number so that you can use them as a witness later.
• Call an Albany Child Injury Lawyer at Bailey, Johnson & Peck: Lastly, call our law firm. We offer a free consultation to every new client. Our Albany child injury lawyers will listen to your story and thoroughly investigate your case. Our experienced legal team will also fight for the best case outcome possible.

Child Injury Cases vs. Personal Injury Cases in New York

Child injury cases are often treated differently than regular personal injury cases. While injured children can receive the same types of financial compensation as injured adults; children are still treated differently in a court of law. For example, children are assigned a different degree of responsibility compared to adults. So, personal injury attorneys and judges have to consider whether a child acted in an age-appropriate manner when the accident occurred. Considering this will determine whether the injury was mostly caused by the child’s negligence or another person’s negligence.

The statute of limitations for a child injury case may also differ from a regular personal injury case. This basically means that you may have more or less time than usual to file a lawsuit on the child’s behalf.

Contact our Albany child injury attorney team for more information.

Who Is Liable For a Child’s Injury in New York?

Depending on the specifics of your child’s injuries and accidents, multiple people or companies could face a child injury lawsuit. Possible liable entities include:

• Doctors, nurses, surgeons, etc.
• Drivers of cars, motorcycles, trucks, school buses, etc.
• Teachers or daycare workers
• Other parents
• Dog owners
• Property owners
• Manufacturers of playground equipment, toys, or defective products

Our Albany child injury lawyers work diligently to hold negligent parties liable for children’s injuries throughout New York. 

How Our Albany Child Injury Attorneys Prove Negligence

Similar to many personal injury cases, an experienced team of child injury attorneys must prove who failed to exercise reasonable care, which ultimately led to the child’s injury. An Albany child injury attorney at our law firm can help parents and families prove negligence in a child’s case through the four elements of negligence.

• Duty of Care: Every person owes each other a specific duty of care. Doctors owe their patients a specific duty of care. Similarly, parents, guardians, and other entities owe children a specific duty of care.
• Breached Duty of Care: The person or entity responsible for child safety breached this duty of care. 
• Causation: The breached duty of care directly caused the child’s injuries.
• Damages: The child deserves just compensation for the injuries they suffered due to someone else’s negligence.

Types of Damages for a Child’s Injuries in New York

An experienced Albany child accident lawyer can help you recover many types of financial compensation for your child’s injuries, including:

• The child’s medical bills
• The child’s rehabilitation bills
• Future rehabilitative and medical expenses if the child is expected to suffer long-term disability and pain
• Future lost wages, especially if the injury is expected to cause long-term disability and pain
• Emotional distress
• The child’s counseling bills if they suffered extensive emotional distress from their injury or accident
• Physical pain and suffering
• Major scarring and disfigurement
• The child’s loss of enjoyment of life
• Funeral and burial expenses if the accident resulted in wrongful death

If your child was killed in a fatal accident, our Albany wrongful death attorneys are here to offer compassionate legal support. We realize this is every parent’s worst nightmare, and regardless if you select our experienced injury lawyers or not, our heart truly goes out to you. No parent should have to experience this tragedy.

What is the New York Statute of Limitations for a Child Injury Lawsuit?

In New York, personal injury victims generally have three years from the date of their accident to file a lawsuit. The statute of limitations can vary, especially if the victim in question is a child. If a child was injured due to negligent acts and their parents didn’t pursue legal action, many states allow them to file a lawsuit within 3 years of their 18th birthday.