A child who has been severely injured due to the negligence of another is every parent’s worst nightmare. If your child has experienced trauma due to the actions or inactions of another, you want justice and compensation for your child.
You may be left with mounting medical costs, unexpected time off from work, and a child who desperately needs your support on their road to recovery. How can you ensure you receive a just settlement offer from an insurance company? Should you file a personal injury lawsuit?
You don’t have to walk this journey alone. In Indianapolis, a child injury lawyer can help guide you through the legal process and fight for justice on behalf of you and your child.
- What you need to know about child injury in Indianapolis
- Examples of child injuries in personal injury cases
- Why you need a child injury lawyer in Indianapolis
- How Yosha Law can help
- Indiana laws you should know
- Damages in a child injury case
- Contact Yosha Law
What you need to know about child injury in Indianapolis
Any personal injury inflicted due to gross negligence or as a result of another party’s liability can leave a life-long impact, and devastate your entire family. When your child experiences these types of personal injury, you might feel helpless to find justice.
Children are particularly vulnerable to pain and suffering at the hands of another. Legally, they aren’t in control of their own lives and rely on the protection of the adults around them. Unfortunately, adults don’t, or can’t, always protect kids.
If your child has been hurt as the result of another’s actions or negligence, they can’t seek justice for themselves, but you can pick up the mantle and fight for them.
In Indianapolis, the child injury lawyers of Yosha Law understand the crucial nature of your child’s case. We understand the Indiana laws surrounding child injury, can navigate through legal nuances, and know how to deal with insurance companies that may deny or lowball a settlement offer for your child.
Examples of child injuries in personal injury cases
Your child may experience a wide array of injuries in an accident. No matter how minor or severe their injuries may be, they deserve just compensation. Some of the most common child injuries we see in personal injury cases include:
- Birth injuries
- Brain injury
- Broken bones
- Burns
- Choking
- Concussions
- Dog bites
- Drowning
- Paralysis
- Poisoning
Why you need a child injury lawyer in Indianapolis
If your child is severely injured in Indianapolis, you may find it difficult to fight for justice on their behalf by yourself. Child injury lawyers can be the best advocates to fight for your kids, and give them a voice in the pursuit of justice.
Your child doesn’t have the legal ability to file their own insurance claims or personal injury lawsuits. A child injury lawyer can navigate through the difficult legal process, act as your child’s representative, help you to calculate the compensation you should pursue, and support your interests.
How Yosha Law can help
At Yosha Law, we are passionate about our child clients and their families. We’ve helped countless families win their child injury cases and get the compensation they deserve. For example, our partner attorney, Brandon Yosha, was instrumental in helping to create Norah’s Law, which will save many lives on Indiana’s highways.
You need an advocate for your child to support your family in your collective recovery, and your child needs a legal representative that will walk alongside them through every step of the legal process.
The Indianapolis child injury lawyers of Yosha Law can help with the following:
- Explore the merits of your case:
We’ll thoroughly explore and explain the merits of your case to help inform the steps you choose to take and the compensation you should seek on behalf of your child.
- Gather evidence:
Child injury can often occur as the result of product failures or school falls. The evidence needed for product liability and school liability may vary.
Nevertheless, regardless of the cause of your child’s injury, we will gather any pertinent incident or police reports, relevant history of the defendant (s) in your case, and forensic evidence from the scene of your child’s accident, including photographs and videos..
- Interview eyewitnesses and forensic experts:
We’ll obtain testimony from any witnesses to your child’s accident, including family members, teachers, and other children. We’ll also reach out to any forensic experts who may bolster your child’s case, including medical experts and product safety experts.
- Real-time case updates:
You won’t have to worry about remaining in contact with our child injury lawyers — your child isn’t just a case number to us, and we will explain any progress or holdups in your case and help you to anticipate the next step.
Our lines will always remain open to you and we’re here to openly and honestly answer any questions that may arise.
- Compassionate support:
We understand the devastating ripple effects your child’s injury may have on your family. We care about justice for your child, but we care about your mental well-being too. We will walk alongside you in your journey to healing and justice.
- Represent you and your child in negotiations:
You’ll need to file any insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit on behalf of your child. However, we’ll ensure we’re representing your child’s best interests, and your child remains our number one priority.
We will represent you and your child in any meetings with opposing counsel and defendants. If insurance companies are reluctant to pay out your claim, we can help to speed up the process and avoid lowball settlement offers.
- Fight for your child in court:
If your child’s personal injury case cannot be settled before it goes to trial, we will fight tirelessly on your behalf and take every necessary legal step to ensure your child receives the justice they deserve.
Indiana laws you should know
If your child was injured in Indianapolis, their personal injury case will be informed by both federal and state laws. A child injury lawyer can advise you on these laws to help you to determine how you should proceed. However, it’s vital that you understand the laws unique to Indiana to help you avoid any missteps.
Statute of limitations
Indiana code § 34-11-2-4 allows you to file a legal claim on behalf of your child within two years of the date their injuries occurred. There may be exceptions made if your child was a minor at the time of their accident.
Nevertheless, it’s important to begin the process as quickly as possible. If you wait too long, your legal claim to compensation may be rendered null and void.
Settlement claims
In Indiana, under code § 29-3-9-7 parents and guardians of a child under the age of 18 are allowed to negotiate and settle a claim on their child’s behalf. However, before the settlement is finalized, even if you choose not to go to court, you must petition the court for settlement approval.
The amount of an awarded settlement may also require the creation of a special court case to assure the proper monetary allocation. This is a requirement in a child injury case when the settlement funds are in excess of $10,000. An Indianapolis lawyer can advise parents and children on how to proceed in these cases.
Wrongful death
If the unthinkable occurs, and your child dies as a result of their injuries, you may file a wrongful death lawsuit. Indiana code §34-23-2-1 allows you to file a lawsuit and collect awarded compensation with some restrictions.
If your child was under 23, enrolled in a post-secondary educational institution, single, and without children of their own at the time of their wrongful death, then you may be compensated.
Damages in a child injury case
The monetary amount awarded in a child injury case falls under three different categories known as damages. Economic damages (or special damages) refer to quantifiable losses that your child has suffered, and have a set monetary value.
Non-economic damages (or general damages) cover the losses that don’t fall under a set monetary value. Punitive damages refer to damages awarded in cases of gross negligence and are often meted out by a judge or jury to send a message to the defendant(s).
Common examples of both economic and non-economic damages in a child injury case include:
- Catastrophic injury
- Disability
- Disfigurement
- Emotional trauma
- Loss of hearing
- Loss of limb
- Loss of quality of life
- Loss of vision
- Medical expenses
- Pain and suffering
- Product liability
- Scarring
- Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
- Wrongful death
Contact Yosha Law
If your child was injured due to the negligence of another, your whole family may experience trauma. Child injury can have catastrophic consequences, and you may be faced with a “new normal.” You shouldn’t have to face the road to justice and healing alone.
Mounting medical expenses and life adjustments may feel overwhelming, but an Indianapolis child injury lawyer at Yosha Law can help guide your family through the legal process. We understand the significant pain and suffering your child has had to endure, and we will support you in your pursuit of just compensation.
We know that your child’s traumatic experience is unique, and any legal solutions must be tailored to their needs. Our clients are a part of our extended family, and represent far more than just another case.
We’ll remain in frequent contact with you as your case progresses, and won’t make decisions without your input and consent. We care about your emotional and physical well-being, and will collaborate with you to seek just compensation for your child.
Connect with us for a free case evaluation, where we can help you explore the merits of your case and set the wheels of justice in motion for your child.
