Personal Injury Lawyer Charlottesville, VA
It can be extremely nerve-wracking to get a phone call from another parent, informing your child has been injured while at their friends house. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, unintentional injury is the leading cause of serious injury and dead among children from the ages of birth and 19 years.
Every year in the U.S. around 12,000 children lose their life because of an accidental injury; another 9.2 million are required to spend time in the emergency room, ICU, and/or hospital. Following a child’s injury, you as the parent might not be sure what to do next.
The first, and more important step you should take is to get your child medical attention. Only after he or she has been treated should you consult a personal injury lawyer for advice and to explore your legal rights. The following are considerations to think about if your child was injured while at a friends house.
Report the Injury
If you child was injured at a friends house or relative’s home, you might feel hesitant to report the injury for fear of a strained relationship. Naturally, you may not want to cause tension, argument, stress, or the loss of a relationship. However, if you fail to report the injury, and you do end up filing a personal injury claim, your case could be affected.
The defense, who may be hired by the other party’s insurance company could argue that you delayed in reporting the incident, and this means the child might have sustained the injury at another time. In other words, they were not injured at their friends, as you say, but rather sometimes after.
If you are offered a private settlement by your friend’s parents, you should politely decline. By accepting any form of compensation from them, you might not be able to recover compensation in a personal injury case. Although you may feel reluctant to report the incident, you may also not be aware of how much your child’s injury will cost over the course of the next few months or even years.
Homeowners insurance serves a purpose. If you file a claim against your child’s friends parents, their homeowners insurance company may take over. This means, as long as the insurance company will cover it, you won’t actually need to take the parents to court.
Homeowners Insurance Usually Covers these Injuries
For a legal consultation with a personal injury lawyer, call 434-817-3100
It’s common for people to worry about burdening the homeowner with debt following an injury. Homeowners insurance usually protects the homeowner against any injuries that occur on the property. In this case, the money would not come out of the pocket of the homeowner, but from their insurance company. This is very similar to the way car accident claims work. Yes, it is possible for the homeowner’s premium to increase, but when it comes to your own child’s wellbeing, you might feel that this is okay – and it should be.
When Your Child is Injured at School
If your child has been injured at school, it is very important to consult a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible. This is because most schools are a public entity. If you intend to file a claim, you should get started as soon as possible. The claims process is different and requires a knowledgeable personal injury lawyer Charlottesville, VA relies on at MartinWren, P.C. to oversee the case.
Call 434-817-3100 or complete a Case Evaluation form
