Seeking A Car Accident Settlement For Your Child
Posted on: 17 October 2019
Getting injured in a car accident is bad enough as an adult. When your child is the one who is injured, you will probably feel absolutely anguished and beside yourself. Whether your child recovers fully or is left with lasting health issues as a result of the accident, you should absolutely seek compensation for their medical bills, pain and suffering, and future loss of income and life enjoyment. Here are some tips to help guide you in doing so.
Speak to a lawyer ASAP.
Do not wait and hope your child will get better and that this issue will disappear. Talk to an attorney now. You can always decide not to file a lawsuit later if your child ends up being just fine. However, if your child does have serious injuries, talking to an attorney at the very beginning makes it easier for them to follow the case and guide you along the way as you seek treatment and negotiate with the insurance companies. Look for an attorney who specializes in car accident cases — preferably one who has filed cases for children before.
Follow doctors' orders.
Your child may insist that they feel fine and that they don't need to take the prescribed medications. They may struggle if you insist on icing their injured areas as the doctor recommended. It's important that you talk to your child and insist they follow doctors' orders, no matter what. Explain that the doctor is the expert and knows best what treatment is needed. In car accident cases, it's really common for the defense to argue that the victim would not be so seriously injured had they more closely followed treatment protocols. You do not want your child to lose the case because they were resistant to care.
Don't accept a settlement offer too soon.
It's common for car insurance companies to offer a settlement early on, figuring that you are desperate for money and will accept it. But if you are not sure your child has fully recovered or will fully recover, accepting this settlement could be a huge mistake. It may not even come close to covering your total costs. Always work with a lawyer, and run any settlement offers you receive by them. They can tell you whether a settlement is a fair offer or whether you need to ask for more — sometimes by going to court.
Having your child become injured in a car accident is disheartening, but with the tips above, you can successfully collect money to cover the costs.
You can click here if you want more information on what to do after your child is in a car accident.
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