Toledo Child Injury Lawyer

Most people don’t know how to get their lives back on track after their child is injured. Our mission is to create individualized plans for each family to get them the help they need to get their child back to health quicker, get the bills paid, and live the lives they want to live.

Few things are scarier than an accident involving your child. Trying to deal with the aftermath of liability questions, insurance companies, lawsuits, and paperwork can be just as bad.

That is why the Toledo child accident lawyers at our office are available to assist those in recovering damages for injuries your child has sustained in an accident. To learn more about the legal options at your disposal or the steps you can take, consult with an experienced personal injury attorney today.

Filing a Child Injury Lawsuit in Ohio

Every child has the right to have a safe, healthy, and happy childhood. Unfortunately, it is all too easy for a defenseless child to fall victim to the negligence, recklessness, or malice of others. When preventable injuries befall our precious children, it is only right that we demand and fight for justice.  When tragedy strikes you may need the help of an experienced Toledo child injury lawyer call us today.

According to a report issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), more than 2,000 children are killed in accidents or die from an unintentional injury every day.  And every year tens of millions of children are left with life-long disabilities.

Children and adolescents are at high risk for many injuries including those caused by:

• Cars and other motor vehicle accidents
• Fireworks
• Playground equipment
• Ingestion of household products such as cosmetics and personal care products, cleaning substances, pain relievers, foreign bodies, and plants
• Household fires
• Falls
• Swimming-related accidents

Where injuries lead to severe disability, the person or company responsible can be held accountable through a lawsuit filed on behalf of the injured child. When a child is killed as a result of someone else’s negligence, a claim by the child’s parent(s) can be a difficult and sensitive matter, requiring the requisite amount of understanding, compassion, and patience obtained through years of experience in working with survivors in these situations.

There Is a Time Limit for Filing a Personal Injury Case on Your Child’s Behalf

Every state implements a time limit called the statute of limitations for filing personal injury lawsuits. In Ohio, you have only two years to file a lawsuit against the party or entity whose negligence caused you to be injured. If, however, your child has suffered an injury that was based on someone else’s negligence, the matter is somewhat different.

Because minors cannot file personal injury claims in Ohio, the time limit that applies is tolled, which means it doesn’t go into effect until the injured child’s 18th birthday. At this point, the two-year statute of limitations applies.

Because filing a personal injury claim sooner rather than later is almost universally advised, parents are able to file on behalf of their minor children in what is known as a next friend capacity. Once your child reaches the age of 18, they have the option of filing their own claim if the matter hasn’t already been resolved. Work with a Toledo child injury attorney from our firm for more information on your legal options.

Common Causes of Childhood Injuries

While every child injury claim is unique, certain types of accidents are more commonly linked to these cases. Some of the most frequently seen causes of accidents our Toledo child injury attorneys handle include:

Traffic Accidents

Traffic accidents remain one of the leading causes of injury among children. Whether riding in a car, walking as a pedestrian, biking, or using a rideshare service, children are particularly vulnerable in motor vehicle collisions. Their smaller size and developing bodies make them more susceptible to severe or long-term injuries.

Dog Bites

Children are significantly more likely than adults to be bitten by a dog—and they often suffer more serious injuries as a result. A dog attack can cause lasting trauma, including permanent scarring, emotional distress, and in some cases, life-altering physical harm.

Defective Children’s Products

Parents expect that products made for children will be safe. Unfortunately, some toys, furniture, clothing, or baby gear may contain design flaws, manufacturing defects, or toxic materials. These defects can lead to choking, poisoning, or other serious injuries.

Playground Accidents

Playgrounds are meant to provide children with a fun and active outlet, but they can also be the site of preventable accidents. Many of these injuries result from defective or poorly maintained equipment, lack of proper safety surfacing, inadequate supervision, or insufficient warnings.

Swimming Pool Accidents

Drowning is one of the leading causes of accidental death among young children. Many of these tragedies are preventable and result from negligent pool safety measures, such as lack of proper fencing or secured gates, missing or ineffective pool covers, slippery or unsafe deck conditions, unsecured pool drains, and the absence of required warning signs at public pools.

Other Causes

Children can also suffer injuries due to unsafe conditions at schools or daycare centers, or from exposure to toxic substances such as lead paint or harmful cleaning products.

No matter the cause, a serious injury can change the course of a child’s life—and your family’s future. If your child has been harmed due to another party’s negligence, you may have the right to pursue compensation and accountability.

Establishing Liability for Child Injuries

To obtain compensation for your child’s losses, your Toledo attorney must establish the elements of negligence to prove another party’s liability. This begins with showing that the responsible party breached the duty of care they owed to your child. Additionally, you must demonstrate that their negligence directly caused the accident and that your family suffered damages as a result.

Proving liability relies on collecting and presenting strong evidence, a task you can entrust to a skilled Toledo child injury lawyer. When a child is the victim, the at-fault party often faces heightened responsibilities due to the child’s increased vulnerability and limited ability to protect themselves.

Establishing liability frequently involves proving that the other party failed to meet reasonable safety standards, violated traffic laws or safety regulations, or neglected proper maintenance of a property. In traffic accident cases, common examples include speeding, distracted or drowsy driving, driving under the influence, aggressive behavior, and failure to obey traffic signals or signs.

Your Child’s Damages and Compensation

When a child is seriously injured, they have their entire lives ahead of them, which means that any permanent damage can lead to overwhelming losses. A key component of every effective child injury claim is clearly identifying the full scope of physical, financial, and emotional losses incurred to ensure an optimal outcome that supports their most complete recovery.

Economic Damages

Economic damages refer to those losses that a price can be affixed to. This includes your child’s medical needs. You’ll need to accurately assess their current medical expenses, including those costs that relate to therapies and rehabilitation, as well as all anticipated future healthcare needs. Having a clear understanding of your child’s medical condition is critical when it comes to obtaining the compensation that they deserve and that they need to continue living their life to the fullest.

If your child’s injuries are very serious and are expected to affect them well into the future, their lost earning potential can also be factored in. This represents a complex calculation that you can trust your dedicated child injury attorney in Toledo to handle effectively.

If you, your child’s other parent, or both of you experience lost earnings as a result of your child’s injuries, such as in relation to their medical appointments and procedures, you can also seek compensation for this category of financial loss. The stakes are high in child injury claims, which makes determining the full range of applicable economic damages paramount.

Noneconomic Damages

Your attorney will also consider your non-economic losses, which refers to your child’s physical and emotional pain and suffering. Serious injuries can take a toll on a child’s life, both causing pain and mental trauma. The psychological consequences of an injury can affect your child’s performance in school and that should be carefully considered.

While Ohio law sets a cap for non-economic damages, there are exceptions to this rule, and claims involving serious child injuries are one example. If your child’s injuries qualify as catastrophic, which generally means a permanent or long-lasting injury that causes substantial setbacks, the cap will not apply. Examples include a significant deformity, limb loss, loss of an organ system, and injuries that seriously interfere with your child’s ability to live an independent life moving forward.

Let a Toledo Child Injury Attorney Help

Has your child been seriously injured in Ohio?  Want to know if your child has a legal claim?  Want to know what your child’s injury case is worth?  Want justice for your child?  Want to make sure the same thing doesn’t happen to another child?

Get the legal aid that you need.  Call the Toledo child injury lawyers at the Charles E. Boyk Law Offices, LLC. The call is free. The advice may be priceless.