Children are injured every day—but it’s a mistake to assume that financial responsibility always falls on the parents. Because children cannot exercise the same level of discretion as adults, others should show a higher level of care for a child’s safety.
A child injury attorney can identify whether another party has acted negligently if your child has suffered an injury. You may qualify for compensation to cover the costs of your child’s injury.
Polito & Harrington is an award-winning law firm that fights for justice on behalf of injured children. Our Waterford child injury lawyers are available to discuss your case and advise you on what steps to take to gain compensation.
Call Polito & Harrington today for your a free consultation with an experienced child injury lawyer.
How Polito & Harrington Makes a Difference
The skilled trial attorneys at Polito & Harrington offer decades of experience, and their time spent practicing personal injury law has brought our firm in a long list of awards and honors for a reason: The experienced attorneys at Polito & Harrington know how to fight for the results their clients deserve.
The legal team at Polito & Harrington has a long track record of routinely securing six- and seven-figure settlement amounts for injured clients. From motor vehicle injuries to slip and fall accidents caused by icy New England weather, Polito & Harrington knows how to leverage the facts and fight for maximum compensation—and they’re not afraid to take a case to court if that’s what it takes to fight for a client’s rights.
Common Reasons for a Child Injury Claim
Any parent knows that children are prone to injuries. But many injuries are not the child’s fault.
In some scenarios, it’s clear that another person is to blame, like when a drunk driver runs a red light and hits a child in the crosswalk.
Negligence isn’t always so apparent, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t there.
Common situations that can give valid grounds for a child injury claim include:
- Motor vehicle accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Bus accidents
- Playground accidents
- School injuries
- Injuries due to daycare or childcare staff negligence
- Icy or slippery floors, sidewalks, or parking lot
- Unsafe buildings or properties
- Dog bites
- Dangerous or defective toys or products
- Poisoning
- Drowning
If your child was injured, consult a child injury attorney to learn whether another party can be held legally responsible for the injuries. A lawyer may inform you that fault lies with a party you didn’t realize could even be held responsible—and their insurance policy could provide the financial relief your family needs.
Child Injury in Connecticut and Rhode Island
Statistics surrounding child injury in Waterford paint a grim picture. Data on child mortality rates in Connecticut shows that over half of child deaths are due to injuries. Many of these injuries occurred due to someone’s negligence.
An examination of accidental injuries from the Connecticut Department of Public Health shows that the most common child injuries in Connecticut include:
- Motor vehicle crashes
- Poisoning
- Falls
- Suffocation
- Burns or fire-related injuries
- Drowning
Statistics from Rhode Island show that falls are the state’s leading cause of serious injuries for children.
A fall might result in traumatic brain injury, a life-altering medical condition that radically alters the quality of life for both a child and their parents. Unsafe playground equipment, unguarded ledges, and negligent childcare staff are all factors that contribute to the high number of falls in Rhode Island.
What to Expect from a Child Injury Claim
When a child is injured, you don’t automatically qualify for compensation. Gaining compensation is a complex legal process that involves many steps. Fortunately, your child injury attorney will handle most of the work for you so that you can place your focus on helping your child heal.
You will need to begin by consulting with a child injury attorney. After learning about your situation, the lawyer will inform you whether you have grounds for a case. If a lawyer agrees to take your case, they will need to build an argument for negligence against the party responsible for the injury.
Building a Case
How your child injury attorney builds a case depends heavily on how the accident happened. They’ll collect relevant documentation, like police reports, incident reports, and medical records. Your attorney may also acquire security or traffic camera footage, consult with accident reconstruction specialists, and collect eyewitness testimony.
If your attorney can prove that the other party’s negligence caused your child’s injuries, you can hold them responsible for the costs incurred in the accident.
Identifying a Compensation Amount
Once your attorney has established liability, they will assess the full extent of the damage. This step relies heavily on thoroughly considering how your child’s injury negatively impacts your family.
Compensation for a child’s injury will include all forms of financial loss and expense, such as medical bills, the costs of medical devices, and lost wages if you have missed work because of the injury. Your lawyer will also consider the non-economic impact of the injuries, like emotional anguish or reduced quality of life.
Your child injury lawyer will calculate the total economic and non-economic damages and then seek to settle for this amount with the insurance company of the party responsible for the injury. Generally, the more serious the injury, the higher the potential compensation value.
Negotiating a Settlement
Insurance companies typically pay compensation for injuries. In a car accident case, this company will likely be the insurer of the driver who caused the injury. In a premises liability case, this might be the insurance company under which the property owner holds premises liability insurance.
Because insurance companies operate on a for-profit basis, they’re usually eager to minimize payout for an injury claim. It’s essential to have an experienced child injury attorney negotiating on your behalf. Without knowledgeable legal representation, you’re likely to walk away with far less compensation than your case deserves.
Going to Court
The thought of going to court can intimidate anyone, and it’s a leading reason why many individuals don’t move forward with taking legal action. However, the reality is that very few child injury cases end up going to court.
Insurance companies know that the expense of a trial can hurt their profits more than agreeing to the settlement amount you’re seeking. A child injury lawyer will take your case to court if it becomes the only way to gain compensation, but usually, an insurance company will agree to settle before a court trial becomes necessary.
Time Limits for Child Injury Compensation
Every type of legal action has a time limit called the statute of limitations. If your child injury attorney goes through all the steps of seeking compensation and the insurance company refuses to offer a fair settlement, your lawyer will file a lawsuit
Filing a lawsuit doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll go to court; instead, it sends a message to the insurance company that you’re willing to go to court if they do not work with you. Much of the time, this is sufficient to convince them to negotiate fairly.
Filing a lawsuit is sometimes the determining factor in a case, regardless of whether the case ends with a negotiation or proceeds to a trial. This step is what the statute of limitations places a time limit on.
Specific time limits vary by state law and also by type of claim. For most injury cases in Rhode Island, there’s a time limit of three years for taking legal action over a child’s injury. In Connecticut, the statute of limitations allows only two years.
Although these time limits may sound generous to the average person, it’s not much time in the legal world. If you hope to gain compensation after a child injury, It’s essential to contact a child injury lawyer as soon as possible. This promptness will ensure adequate time to build a case and attempt negotiations.
Why Call a Child Injury Lawyer?
Working with a child injury lawyer will always help to increase your chance of gaining fair compensation. In cases involving injury to a child, the well-being of an entire family may hinge on gaining fair compensation.
Finances are a central concern after a child sustains an injury, but financial relief is only one of the many benefits of working with an experienced child injury attorney.
Gain Financial Relief
For many families, the cost of medical care for a seriously injured child can lead to incredibly high medical debt. A child injury lawyer works hard so that you don’t have to pay for another’s negligence.
Reduce Stress
Every parent’s worst nightmare is watching their child sustain a serious injury. Seeing a child suffer, making ongoing doctor visits, missing work to care for an injured child, and worrying about paying medical bills becomes the everyday reality for the parents of a seriously injured child.
A child injury attorney helps to remove part of the emotional burden. Your lawyer worries about building a case and gaining compensation, so you can place your focus where it matters most—caring for your child.
Prevent Future Injuries
Legal action doesn’t just help your family financially; it also helps to ensure that the same tragedy doesn’t happen to another child.
After an expensive child injury payout, the party that caused the injury will often change their behavior. For example, a company might revamp its policies to prevent a similar accident. Pursuing a child injury claim ensures justice is served and reduces the chances that another child will suffer harm.
Can I Afford a Child Injury Lawyer?
You’ll likely face a mountain of medical bills when your child is seriously injured. It may also be necessary to miss significant amounts of work or to stop working entirely to care for your child. The financial strain of a serious injury often leads parents to feel that they wouldn’t be able to afford the cost of a child injury lawyer.
Fortunately, this isn’t the case. The child injury lawyers at Polito & Harrington work with clients on a contingency basis. We don’t ask for payment upfront. Instead, our legal services are paid directly out of the compensation we gain for you—and you only pay for our services if we win your case.
Polito & Harrington Fight for Justice
Designations held by the distinguished child injury attorneys at Polito & Harrington include:
- Board certification in Civil Trial Advocacy
- Lawyer of the Year Award: Personal Injury Litigation—Plaintiffs
- Super Lawyers Connecticut Rising Stars List
- U.S. News Best Law Firm: Personal Injury Litigation
Case results and client testimonials lend insight into how Polito & Harrington achieve these awards and positive case outcomes. Former clients express praise and gratitude for the compassion and professionalism of the legal team at Polito & Harrington.
The child injury lawyers at Polito & Harrington stop at nothing when pursuing justice. Their skill in litigation ensures that if victory requires a battle in court, they’re ready for the fight.
Call a Waterford Child Injury Lawyer Today
An injury doesn’t just take a heavy toll on a child’s quality of life; it also impacts the well-being and finances of the entire family. If your child was injured, you should consult with a child injury attorney to learn whether you have grounds for a case.
The experienced Waterford personal injury lawyers at Polito & Harrington are available to assess your case and advise you on whether taking legal action can bring compensation to your family after another’s negligence harms your child.
Call for a free consultation with Polito & Harrington today to learn more about gaining compensation for a child injury in Waterford.
Polito & Harrington LLC - Waterford Office
567 Vauxhall Street Ext.
Suite 230, Waterford, CT 06385
Phone: (860) 447-3300
Fax: (860) 447-3389
Mail: hpolito@politolaw.com
Client Testimonial
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