Child Head Injuries and Personal Injury Lawsuits

Children are vulnerable to injury and are particularly susceptible to dangerous brain injuries. Child head trauma is a leading cause of disability and death for children living in the United States, with about one million children injured each year and an estimated 165,000 child victims requiring hospitalization.

A child injury lawyer can help you determine who is at fault for your child's brain injury as well as recover compensation for their medical bills and long-term expenses through a personal injury lawsuit.

Causes of Child Head Injuries

The greatest risk for a child to sustain a head injury is during an auto accident, such as a car crash or SUV rollover collision. But that is not the only source for traumatic brain injury in children. Listed below are several other incidents in which a child might suffer a serious head injury:

o Child pedestrian accident
o Bicycle accident
o Bathtub slip and fall
o Swimming pool or diving board accident
o Physical abuse
o Sledding, skiing or other sports/activities

If your child's head injury was sustained during an accident or event caused by the negligence or malicious act of an individual, manufacturer or organization, you and your child victim might be eligible to file for a personal injury lawsuit.

Lasting Effects of Child Brain Injury

Because of the unpredictable and life-threatening nature of child head injuries, it is vital to always seek immediate medical attention in the event that your child has suffered any type of head trauma.

Beyond the immediate medical concerns, new scientific research by the American Psychological Association indicates that children who are the victims of brain injury can suffer the effects of the trauma for many years after the incident, with some symptoms not appearing until long after the initial damage has been done.

The long-term effects of a child head injury can be mild to severe, depending on the accident and level of trauma involved. Listed below are a few complications commonly associated with child head injuries:

o Speech impairment
o Loss or change in senses
o Memory loss
o Headaches
o Learning disabilities
o Depression
o Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

These injuries can result in impeding your child's natural brain development and may require long-term hospitalization or affect their ability to live independently later on in life. The medical costs associated with these types of brain injuries can be staggering.

It's important for you as a parent to be aware of the long-term costs associated with your child's brain injury as well as what legal recourse is available to you in order to secure the funds necessary to give your child the type and level of medical care they need and deserve.

Filing a Personal Injury Lawsuit After a Child Head Injury

A child head injury can have a negative and permanent impact on your child's quality of life. A personal injury lawsuit can recover compensation for:

o Costly hospital and medical bills
o Emotional counseling
o Continuing care expenses
o Future loss of income
o Pain and suffering

If you are interested in pursuing a personal injury lawsuit on behalf of your injured child, contact a child injury lawyer that has experience in handling cases involving child brain injuries. A child brain injury lawyer can help you to determine issues of liability and legal responsibility in the case of your child's head trauma.

Injury Lawsuits Have Deadlines

Every state has deadlines for filing personal injury lawsuits. The deadline - called a statute of limitations - depends on the type of case, who you're suing and where you're suing. The basic rule in Illinois is that you have two years to sue for an injury.

If you miss the deadline, you're probably out of luck. However, there are exceptions that allow more time. Keep in mind that there also are situations where you may have less time to sue.

Illinois' statute of limitations for injury cases is two years from the date of injury. Injury cases include car accidents, getting hurt on someone else's property, slip and fall cases, and medical malpractice, to name a few. So if you slip and fall in a parking lot, you have two years from that day to sue the owner or whoever is in charge of the lot.

In some situations, you may not know you were injured until much later. A common example is the medical malpractice case where a surgical instrument is left inside the patient after surgery. You aren't expected to know about this type of injury until you start experiencing symptoms or until you are diagnosed. So in these situations, the two years may not begin until you know (or should have known) about the injury. There is an outside deadline of four years in most medical malpractice cases, meaning that even if you didn't know about the malpractice you still may run out of time to sue.

You may have less than two years to file an injury lawsuit if you are suing the government. You usually have to give notice of your intent to sue within six months or a year, and you may only have a year to file a lawsuit. This exception applies to cases against towns, police departments, public schools, etc.

The two-year statute of limitations may be extended if the injured person is a minor at the time of the injury. If you are under 18, you generally have two years from your 18th birthday to file a lawsuit. For medical malpractice, minors have an outside deadline of either (1) eight years from the date of malpractice or (2) their 22nd birthday.

The statute of limitations for an injury case also may be extended based on the mental state of the person suing. For example, lawsuits based on sexual abuse can be filed long after the abuse occurred if the memories were suppressed during that time. You also may have more time if you suffer from mental illness.

Keep these deadlines in mind if you are considering suing for an injury. If you have questions, talk to an experienced personal injury attorney - there may be an exception that applies to your case.

Brain Injury Lawsuits

If someone in your family has a brain injury, you know how devastating and frightening it can be. Many family members of brain injured individuals consider suing the people responsible for causing the injury, but caring for someone with a brain injury takes a lot of time and energy, and the idea of pursuing a lawsuit can be overwhelming.

A good attorney will take control of the situation, making it as stress-free as possible for their clients. Lawsuits aren't easy, but if someone's negligence caused the injury, seeking compensation can provide a lot of relief in terms of covering medical bills, long-term care costs, lost income and other damages.

Brain injury lawsuits are in the category of personal injury lawsuits, where the goal is proving that the defendant was negligent and that their negligence caused the injury. Some brain injuries are caused by a traumatic event, such as a car accident, others are caused by a lack of oxygen. Some are medical malpractice lawsuits, depending on the circumstances. For example, if a newborn is injured during birth and suffers brain damage as a result, the lawsuit would likely be for medical malpractice. If you are injured at work, you most likely would have a workers' compensation claim rather than a lawsuit. It can be a bit confusing, but you don't have to figure this out on your own - an experienced attorney will explain all your options.

If you are considering legal action, it's important not to delay. Obviously, the health and well being of your loved one should be your top priority. But there are deadlines for filing personal injury lawsuits, and if you miss the deadline, you could be barred from ever filing the lawsuit. In Illinois, you generally have two years from the date of the injury to file a lawsuit, although there are some exceptions that allow more - or even less - time. Sooner is usually better. The sooner you can meet with an attorney the sooner you can start gathering documents, interviewing witnesses, etc. If you wait, things may get lost and people may forget what happened.

Personal injury attorneys, including those who handle brain injury cases, generally charge a contingency fee. This means that you only pay your attorney if they win your case either at trial or in settlement. As general guideline, a contingency fee is around 1/3 of what you recover. If you lose, you pay nothing. It's a risk for attorneys to take cases on a contingency, but they are willing to do so because of the possibility of a significant fee if they are able to win the case. For clients, contingency fees are attractive because there generally aren't any fees or costs up front.

If you are thinking about a lawsuit, or wondering whether you have a good case, the first step is to get an initial consultation with an attorney. These consultations are free and give you a chance to ask the attorney a lot of questions. Look for an attorney who focuses his or her practice on personal injury and has significant experience handling brain injury cases. Ask about their past successes and what their strategy would be for your case. Ask about fees, how they keep in touch with clients, and anything else that concerns you. Don't leave your case in the hands of just anyone. Do your research so you can have peace of mind that you're doing everything you can for your family.

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Personal Injury Lawsuits - Understanding negligence

Understanding of the legal process is not only confusing, but can be quite frustrating. To try to stress to understand the complicated legal terms used by lawyers, an explanation for a term often used in a personal injury proceedings has provided the underlying structure. It 'important to remember that the best way to understand the law and how it relates directly to your request for a personal injury lawyer with experience to obtain a license. Maybethe most important thing to understand about the processes of personal injury and have been violated because someone else has to be negligence and this negligence is proven in a court. If this is the case with your specific requirements, consult the following statement to a better understanding of "negligence will," and how it affects the process of personal injury:

What is meant by "negligence" mean and how is it determined?

If someone does not act in aresponsibly, in a certain situation, you may see as negligence. This could mean that the person was or negligent in their actions or the person, not a thing they have done to prevent injuries, you should do. Negligence is a process by various events, including if the person acts to cause an injury victim or if the person is aware that their actions of someone else's pain and suffering has been due to injury, but is determinedcontinue to act anyway. Another example of an act of negligence for damage occurring because of the behavior of the person. Finally, if people's actions are a breach of duty, may be held liable for negligence in personal injury action.

There is no doubt that the best way to understand how the law applies to you and your request is to consult a lawyer. A licensed attorney has the skills to be able to evaluate the application and determine whetherhave grounds for a valid claim of personal injury. consulting a lawyer can be intimidating at first, but it is important to remember that highly skilled lawyers to help you succeed only are concerned. You should be calculated so that you can get the compensation you deserve, if someone else is negligent actions, you cause injuries. A good lawyer will guide you through the legal process and answer any questions about the situation.