As a parent, few things are worse than seeing your child in pain. You probably want justice if your child has been hurt because of someone else’s negligence or wrongdoing in San Antonio, Texas. That means holding the negligent person responsible for your injuries and getting compensation to cover your financial expenses, pain and suffering, and more.
A San Antonio child injury attorney can help you. George Salinas Injury Lawyers has over 110 years of combined experience helping injured people in San Antonio. This includes the most vulnerable, our children.
Contact us at (210) 225-0909 to set up a free consultation and learn more about your child’s rights after getting hurt. We are available to hear your story and discuss your best next steps.
How Can George Salinas Injury Lawyers Help Your Child After an Injury in San Antonio, TX
After a child injury in San Antonio, TX, George Salinas Injury Lawyers can help you recover damages for expenses and emotional suffering. We have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for our clients.
Our personal injury law firm is recognized nationally and locally. We have received various accolades, including being named Texas Super Lawyers in 2020, 2021, and 2022. We are also proud to have won a Top 100 Texas Jury Verdict in 2019 and 2020, and a Top 100 US Jury Verdict in 2020.
When you hire our San Antonio personal injury attorneys to handle your child’s personal injury case, we will:
- Investigate the cause of the injury
- Request and review medical records
- Consult with expert witnesses
- File insurance claims and negotiate on your behalf
- Calculate your total damages and the case value
- File a personal injury lawsuit if necessary
- Go to trial
Child injury cases are among the most serious for us. George Salinas Injury Lawyers strongly believes in protecting children from negligence and careless behavior. We know that this process can be difficult for parents and children. That’s why you can rely on us to handle the case with compassion and candor.
Contact us to set up a time for a free case evaluation.
Common Types of Child Injuries
Children are prone to getting hurt. However, it’s different when your child is hurt because of someone else’s careless behavior. Unfortunately, some injuries are fatal for children. In fact, 1 in 5 child deaths is the result of an injury.
While children are susceptible to certain types of injuries, the most common include:
- Head and brain injuries
- Broken and fractured bones
- Bruises, bleeding, and burns
- Poisonings
- Near-fatal drownings
- Dislocated joints
Our team can help you and your child no matter the severity of the injury. We consult with doctors and medical experts to understand the full impact and necessary steps to recovery. You can rely on George Salinas Injury Lawyers to help you navigate a traumatic child injury.
How Do Child Injuries Happen?
Children are active and always on the move. Many children get into places that aren’t safe for them and don’t understand the consequences of particular actions. Plus, some children are left in others’ care, like teachers, daycare centers, and babysitters. This means that parents aren’t able to keep a keen eye on their children at all times of the day.
As a result, child injuries can happen in a variety of ways. Some of the most common causes of child injuries are:
- Sports injuries
- Car accidents and unsafe car seats
- Truck accidents
- Bus accidents
- Defective products
- Dog bites
- Unsafe conditions on a property
- Accidents at school or daycare
- Ingestion of toxic substances
- Slip and falls
No matter the cause of the injury, we can help you identify how it happened. This is important, particularly for young children who cannot always communicate clearly and effectively. Once we determine the cause of the accident, we can find out who is responsible and take legal action.
Who Is Liable in a San Antonio Child Injury Case?
In general, the person or party who caused the injury is responsible for paying damages. This could be someone who was negligent or acted intentionally.
Sometimes multiple parties are responsible for a child injury case. In those cases, we might include each party as a defendant in a lawsuit or pursue full compensation from just one individual.
Depending on how the child injury accident happened, it’s normal to seek damages from:
- Daycare centers and employees
- Teachers and schools
- Businesses
- Drivers
- School bus drivers
- Coaches
- Other children or their parents
- Product manufacturers or distributors
Our goal is to identify everyone who is responsible and name the parties that are most likely to be held accountable and afford compensation.
For example, if your child was hurt at daycare, you are more likely to get paid if you sue the daycare center in addition to just the employee. That’s because the daycare center probably has more money to pay for damages.
Do Children Have the Same Injury Rights as Adults in San Antonio, Texas?
Children have mostly the same legal rights as adults when it comes to personal injury cases. From a policy perspective, this makes sense. We don’t want people to act more negligent or recklessly around a child than an adult.
The main difference in child injury cases is that usually, the child isn’t pursuing the lawsuit themselves. A parent files the lawsuit on behalf of the child. Again, this is necessary since most children don’t have a conception of their legal rights, especially complex tort law. Some children might be too young to even communicate.
However, Texas law allows child injury victims to file a claim on their own once they turn 18, assuming a claim was not filed on their behalf to that point.
Damages in a Child Injury Case
Your child is entitled to the same damages as an adult in an injury case. This includes compensation for actual financial losses, pain and suffering, and sometimes punitive damages.
Economic Damages
Economic damages are actual financial losses that happen after an injury. In a child injury case, usually, these are the financial obligations of the parents. Common examples of economic damages include:
- Doctor’s bills
- Emergency medical care
- Ongoing medical treatment
- Rehabilitation and physical therapy
- Talk therapy or psychological treatment
- Cost of alternative childcare or school
- Pharmaceuticals
- Medical devices
- Transportation to and from medical care
- Domestic help
- Lost wages (of the parent to care for the child)
Economic damages are easy to calculate because there is a receipt or bill. Keep track of these documents so that you can provide them to your attorney.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages are emotional and psychological losses that happen because of an accident. These are not financial losses and are often referred to as pain and suffering. In a child injury case, non-economic damages may include:
- Physical pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Loss of enjoyment of life or certain activities
- Loss of quality of life
- Anxiety or depression
In certain cases, a court may award a child more damages than a similarly situated adult. That’s often because, depending on the injury, the child might have more suffering in the future due to their young age.
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages are a distinct type of damage different from the rest. Punitive damages are meant as extra punishment for a person or party. Instead of compensating your child for a loss (financial or non-financial), they deter future bad conduct.
Under the Texas code, you can ask for punitive damages if you prove that the defendant acted with malice, fraud, or gross negligence. You must prove this by clear and convincing evidence. This is a higher bar than what is required for the other two types of damages.
An example of a case where punitive damages may be warranted is if a daycare committed fraud by pretending to be licensed when it was not. If your child was hurt because of negligence at that daycare, it may be a good candidate for punitive damages.
What Is the Statute of Limitations in a Texas Child Injury Case?
For adults, the statute of limitations in a personal injury case is two years. However, for children, the statute of limitations does not begin until they turn 18 years old. That means that a child can file a personal injury lawsuit up until they are 20 years old.
This rule is to accommodate children whose parents may not take the initiative to file a lawsuit. Once the child becomes a legal adult at 18, they can assert their own legal rights.
However, it might become more difficult to win the case after such a long period has passed. That’s because evidence may have been lost, misplaced, or destroyed. Witnesses could have moved or simply forgotten the details of the case. Plus, the child may have worse memory, or no memory, of the actual incident. Therefore, it is best to contact a San Antonio child injury attorney as soon as possible to protect your legal rights.
Contact a San Antonio Child Injury Attorney Today
There’s no sense in wasting time while your child suffers. George Salinas Injury Lawyers can help you recover compensation and seek justice on behalf of your child. Hiring a San Antonio child injury attorney may be the best choice you make for your child’s well-being in the wake of an accident.
Call our office to set up a free consultation and learn more about how we can help.
George Salinas Injury Lawyers
6243 I-10 Ste. 955, San Antonio, TX 78201
(210) 225-0909
Open 24 hours
