Philadelphia Lawyers Representing Injured Children & Their Families

As a child, the world is new and exciting. Every day is filled with the possibility of new discoveries and experiences. This sense of wonder is one of the best parts of being a kid, and one of the most rewarding aspects of parenting.

However, as any parent knows, childhood innocence also makes our kids more vulnerable to the dangers of the world. Kids often feel invincible and aren't yet aware of the harm which can be caused by a stranger's reckless behavior. Sometimes, another party's dangerous actions lead to an injured child.

How Can A Lawyer Help?

There is no excuse for endangering anyone through negligent actions, but endangering a child is particularly troublesome. The experienced child injury lawyers at Monheit Law believe it's necessary to hold these negligent parties liable for their dangerous behavior.

Legal Complexities

Lawsuits for child injuries can be complicated and require the aid of expert legal counsel. Determining liability depends on a number of complex factors. Be aware that unlike adult personal injury cases, the statute of limitations for child injury lawsuits extends until the child's 18th birthday. A 2-year statute of limitations comes into effect after this point.

Financial Compensation

If you're the parent of a seriously injured child, we understand that money might be far down on your list of priorities. But the reality is that serious injuries often lead to a variety of financial setbacks, along with physical and psychological ones. A lawsuit can help to ease your burden as much as possible, by providing compensation for:

• Medical expenses
• Lost wages (if you've taken time off work to care for your child)
• Loss of quality of life
• Pain and suffering

If you suspect that negligence contributed to your child's injury in any way, we highly recommend consulting with an attorney. He or she can compare the circumstances of your incident with legal statutes in order to determine if your case is viable.

Common Injury Causes

As a parent, the slightest threat of harm to one of your children is enough to make your heart stop. But sometimes the unthinkable happens, and a stranger's careless mistake ends up hurting your child. In these situations, the experienced child injury lawyers at Monheit Law believe it's necessary to hold negligent parties responsible for endangering innocent children.

Medical Malpractice

While any child injury is devastating for a family, those injuries inflicted while under medical care are blindsiding. At the very least, we trust our medical professionals to treat our kids safely. Breaches of this trust through negligent practice can leave a child with lifelong injuries, both physical and psychological.

Birth Injuries

It's particularly disheartening when a child suffers a serious injury just as he or she is entering the world. Birth injuries can affect a child throughout a lifetime and cause serious hardships for the entire family. While many birth injuries result from unavoidable complications, many others are preventable and the result of medical negligence. Common birth injuries include:

• Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE)
• Brain damage
• Brachial plexus injuries
• Cerebral palsy
• Erb's palsy
• Hypoxia
• Spastic quadriplegia
• Wrongful death

When a serious birth injury happens, many families face a stressful and expensive road to recovery. Is there anything more heartbreaking than knowing a child's life will be unnecessarily difficult or cut short because of a medical professional's mistake?

Experienced birth injury lawyers will fight for the compensation families need to provide the best care for their child, and to recover from the pain and suffering of such a traumatic ordeal.

School Injuries

Much like medical professionals, we trust our education professionals to protect our children and foster a safe environment throughout the school day. However, sometimes this trust is broken and a preventable injury occurs. Common causes of school injuries include:

• Injuries from school bus accidents
• Bullying and violence from other students
• Excessive punishment
• Injuries caused by inadequate supervision
• Sexual misconduct by a school employee

Legal options are different for public and private schools. Public schools are considered government entities, and as such are protected by governmental immunity. Private schools are not protected by this immunity and can be sued for negligence like any other private business. Public schools can only be sued under special circumstances, which are outlined in The Political Subdivision Tort Claims Act:

1. Vehicle liability
2. Care, custody or control of personal property
3. Real property
4. Trees, traffic controls and street lighting
5. Utility service facilities
6. Streets
7. Sidewalks
8. Care, custody or control of animals

Cases involving public school negligence are very complex. If your child has been injured at school and you suspect that a staff member's negligence was the cause, we recommend consulting with an experienced school injury lawyer to discuss the details of your situation. He or she will analyze the evidence and use their expertise to determine if you have a case.

Auto Accidents

All safe drivers know how important is to stay aware of other motorists at all times. Even when you do everything in your power to protect your child on the road, it's always possible that another reckless driver could cause an accident. Common examples of negligence which often lead to accidents include:

• Drunk driving
• Distracted driving (such as texting or eating)
• Fatigued driving
• Aggressive driving
• Auto or auto part defects

A 2010 study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children in the US. This is a nightmare which no parent should ever have to face. Additionally, head injuries were the most common injuries. Head trauma to a developing brain often leads to permanent damage.

One lapse in judgment from another motorist is all it takes to cause a lifetime of physical, mental, and emotional trauma for child victims and their families. Not to mention the piles of medical bills and other expenses they can expect to face.

While a lawsuit may not bring back your child or reverse permanent injuries, it can help ease the variety of burdens you may experience following a tragic auto accident. At Monheit Law, we believe these negligent drivers must be held accountable for the pain they've caused.

Defective Products

When we purchase any product, we expect that it has been properly inspected and is free of any dangers. This is especially true for toys, games, and other products we purchase for our children. While many child injuries are the result of poor supervision, many others result from inherent product defects.

If your child has been injured by a defective product, a product liability lawsuit could hold the manufacturer liable for the various damages caused by their negligence. In order to file a product liability suit, you must prove four things:

1. The product was defective
2. Designer or manufacturer negligence made the product defective
3. Your child was injured as a direct result of this negligence
4. Your child's injury directly resulted in specific damages (such as medical bills or lost wages for parents)

In order to have a case, your child's injuries must have required medical care. Minor scrapes and bruises aren't sufficient enough to file a product liability suit.

Dog Bites

Most children love dogs. A dog can match a child's excitement level in a way most adults cannot. However, children are also unaware of the potential dangers present when playing with a dog.

Dog bites are the second leading cause of emergency room visits for children, at 333,687 per year. When a large breed bites a small child, the injuries can be catastrophic and even lead to death.

It's up to a dog's owner to properly supervise his or her pet and warn children and their parents of any potential for danger. When a dog bites a child, it usually could have been prevented by more careful supervision, or if the dog has been classified as dangerous, keeping the child away from it altogether. One moment of canine aggression is all it takes to change a child's life forever. Negligent dog owners must pay for such costly mistakes.

Daycare Negligence

Like medical professionals and school employees, we expect daycare employees to exercise the utmost care while supervising our children. However, sometimes employee negligence causes serious injuries to children. Examples of daycare negligence which may lead to an injury include:

• Inadequate supervision
• Unsafe products (such as toys and cribs)
• Unsanitary conditions
• Slip, trip, and fall hazards

Daycare facilities owe a duty of care to parents to keep their kids safe. If a foreseeable accident happens because of a breach of this duty and your child suffers a serious injury as a result, you may be eligible to hold that facility liable for damages in civil court.

Slips, Trips, & Falls

When you and your family enter a business, home, or other private property, the property owner has a legal obligation to maintain safe premises and to warn you of any dangers. Failure to do either of these things could lead to a serious slip and fall injury if dangerous conditions are present. Examples of such conditions include:

• Icy or snow-covered walking paths
• Wet floors
• Uneven surfaces
• Inadequate lighting
• Broken steps and staircases
• Wet leaves

If your child has been seriously injured as a result of any of the conditions listed above, the property owner may be held liable for damages which resulted from the injury.