Children’s compensation following a car accident

 

Being caught in traffic because of a car accident up ahead is nobody’s idea of fun. Not least if you’re the one involved in the accident (if you have been affected, you may wish to contact a car accident lawyer in Chicago). 

But what about if you have been involved in a car accident with your children on board? Can you seek compensation for their injuries? Today, we’re going to take a closer look at children’s compensation following a car accident, so that you know what to do in the event that you are ever in this situation.  

How soon after the car accident should I begin the claim?

Technically, and depending on where you are in the world, you can expect the statute of limitations on personal injuries to be 2 – 3 years. This means that you must begin your claim for personal injury compensation within the designated 2 – 3 year window from the date of the injury. However, the longer you wait, the harder the task. Personal injury compensation claims are based on evidence. Your lawyer needs time to gather all relevant evidence in support of your claim, meaning that leaving things until the last moment may not be the route you wish to take. Things like photos of the crash site, photos of damage to the vehicle, photos of injuries to everyone involved, and medical reports may be much more difficult to include in your supporting evidence with the passing of time.

Will my child need to have a medical examination?

If your child has been injured in a car accident, the likelihood is that you will have already been to the hospital to get checked out. Lawyers can make requests for access to these medical reports, and where necessary, your lawyer may suggest that a follow up medical appointment with specialist medical staff is in the interest of your child’s recovery and in the interest of bolstering the evidence in support of your claim for personal injury compensation. These follow up appointments are generally carried out by preferred medical teams that your lawyer regularly recommends, meaning you will be dealing with medical staff who are friendly and well-known for their ability to work with the kinds of cases that are sent to them. 

Will the case progress to court?

Forget what you’ve seen in the movies. Every day law is much more dignified than a courtroom filled with people shouting at each other. If that were the case, no parent or guardian would ever put their child through the stress of processing a personal injury claim. Instead, what you can expect in the vast majority of circumstances (and we mean ‘vast majority’ as in capital letters and double underlined), is an out of court settlement. This is because where the other side knows that the driver of the vehicle responsible for having caused the crash does not have a chance of winning the case, the aim shifts towards damage limitation, and that means bargaining for an out of court settlement to avoid lengthy legal fees (courtrooms aren’t free). 

 

What Next?

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