If your child has been injured in an accident while walking, playing, or riding a bike, it will be important to speak with a Birmingham pedestrian accident attorney about your family’s legal rights. The out-of-pocket costs of children’s injuries can add up quickly, and in cases involving permanent injuries, they can continue adding up for years to come.
Injuries suffered during childhood can also cause lasting emotional trauma. Just like adults, children who have been seriously injured can experience long-term emotional distress, post-traumatic stress, and other psychological effects. If children are unable to spend time with friends, build new relationships, or pursue careers as a result of their injuries, these are all losses for which their parents can—and should—seek just compensation as well.
5 Important Facts for Alabama Parents Whose Children Have Suffered Accident-Related Injuries
Here are five important facts for Alabama parents whose children have suffered serious injuries in pedestrian and bicycle accidents:
1. Parents Can File Claims Related to Many Types of Pedestrian and Bicycle Accidents
Negligent drivers can be held liable for pedestrian and bicycle accidents involving children in a wide range of circumstances. For example, your family could have a claim if:
- Your child was injured while walking or biking on the sidewalk or the side of the road
- Your child was injured by a car reversing out of a driveway
- Your child was struck by a car in a parking lot
- Your child was injured while playing in your neighborhood
- Your child was hit by a car while crossing the street
- Your child was hit by a car while waiting for the school bus
- Your child was struck by a garbage truck or another commercial vehicle
Again, these are just examples. If your child was struck by any type of vehicle under any circumstances, it will be worth contacting a Birmingham pedestrian accident attorney to find out if you can file a claim. From running stop signs to driving while distracted, numerous mistakes behind the wheel can lead to accidents that could—and should—have been avoided. If your child was injured by a negligent driver, an experienced attorney will be able to help you seek financial compensation for your child’s medical bills and other financial and non-financial losses.
2. It Is Important for Parents to Take Action Promptly After a Serious Accident
With that said, in order for an attorney to be able to help you, you need to take action promptly. Conducting an investigation and preserving the available evidence will be critical for proving your family’s legal rights—and these steps need to be taken before any key evidence disappears.
Once you hire an attorney, your attorney will be able to send an investigator to the scene, and your attorney will be able to begin working to obtain evidence from any other available sources. For example, if your child’s accident was captured by a doorbell camera or security camera, your attorney may be able to obtain the footage to prove what happened. Depending on the circumstances involved, the driver’s receipts, cell phone records, vehicle maintenance records, and various other forms of documentation may be available to prove liability as well.
If you have been researching your family’s legal rights online, you may have seen that your child has until his or her 21st birthday to file a claim in Alabama. While this is true, it does not mean that waiting is a good idea. If the evidence needed to prove liability disappears, it won’t be possible to file a successful claim.
3. Parents Can Seek Compensation for Their Children’s Present and Future Medical Costs
One reason why some parents wait to take legal action is that they want to make sure they are seeking reimbursement for all of their child’s medical bills. Unfortunately, this is too often a costly mistake.
When you file a pedestrian or bicycle accident claim in Alabama, you can seek compensation for your child’s present and future medical expenses. By working closely with your child’s doctors, your attorney will be able to determine how much financial compensation your family will need to cover your child’s medical expenses in the months or years ahead. As a result, there is no reason to wait—and, again, waiting can prove costly.
4. Parents Can Seek Compensation for Their Children’s Other Present and Future Losses
Along with seeking compensation for your child’s present and future medical expenses, you can—and should—seek compensation for the other present and future losses resulting from your child’s injuries. Depending on the severity of your child’s injuries and their long-term effects, these losses could include:
- Medications, medical supplies and medical devices
- Home and vehicle modifications
- In-home childcare and support services
- Tutoring and other special education services
- Pain, suffering and emotional trauma
- Loss of companionship, society and enjoyment of life
- Loss of future earning capacity (if your child will be unable to work or have a limited ability to work in the future)
Here, too, your attorney can help you understand how much your family is entitled to recover, and your attorney can fight to recover just compensation on your family’s behalf.
5. Hiring a Birmingham Pedestrian Accident Attorney to Represent Your Family Costs Nothing Out-of-Pocket
When you need to seek financial compensation for injuries your child sustained in a pedestrian or bicycle accident, hiring an attorney to represent your family costs nothing out-of-pocket. In this scenario, you can hire an attorney on a contingency-fee basis, which means your family’s legal fees (if any) will be deducted from the amount your family recovers if your case is successful.
Discuss Your Family’s Legal Rights with a Birmingham Pedestrian Accident Attorney for Free
Was your child seriously injured in a pedestrian or bicycle accident in Alabama? If so, we strongly encourage you to contact us right away. To discuss your family’s legal rights with an experienced Birmingham pedestrian accident attorney as soon as possible, please call 205-855-2745 or request a free consultation online today.