Call Us Today You do your best to protect your children, but you can’t be with them all the time. You put your trust in professionals such as teachers, coaches, and daycare workers to keep your kids safe. If your child experiences a preventable injury anyway, it is understandable if you are angry.
You have the right to hold professionals accountable when their negligence causes harm to your children. Our child injury lawyers in Sanibel can help you identify the responsible parties and seek compensation for the physical and emotional hardships they have caused.
At Viles & Beckman, our Sanibel personal injury lawyers have helped us recover over $100 million for our injured clients. With our team, you get legal support that feels like family. Call today to schedule a free consultation and tell us how your child was injured.
How Our Child Injury Attorneys Can Help
Recovering compensation in a child injury case can be difficult due to complicated liability issues and legal restrictions on claims against public entities like schools. You may also encounter pushback from school officials or delays and denials from insurance companies.
It’s smart to seek legal representation. Some of the ways our child injury attorneys in Sanibel can assist you with your case include:
Investigate the Incident
Our team will examine the facts about what happened to your child. We may request medical records, speak to witnesses, and review video evidence. We may also work with experts to understand exactly how the injury occurred and whether safety rules or laws were broken.
Identify Liable Parties
We look closely at who may be legally responsible for your child’s injury. That might include individuals, companies, or organizations. Sometimes, more than one party shares fault. We’ll hold the right people accountable to the extent that the law allows.
Assess Your Damages
We work with medical professionals to understand the full impact of your child’s injury, both current and future. This includes medical bills, therapy, missed school, emotional trauma, and long-term care needs. We’ll use this to pursue maximum compensation.
File a Lawsuit
If the other at-fault party won’t take responsibility, we’ll prepare and file a lawsuit. This legal step protects your right to seek compensation. We handle paperwork, meet court deadlines, and keep you updated. Filing doesn’t always mean going to trial, but it moves your case forward.
Negotiate a Settlement
Many personal injury cases are settled out of court. We’ll talk directly with the other side’s lawyers or insurance company to try to reach a fair settlement. Resolving your case through negotiations is usually the best option for everyone involved.
Represent You in Court
If the liable party won’t agree to a reasonable settlement, we’ll be ready to take the next step. In court, we’ll present the evidence, question witnesses, and argue your child’s case to the judge or jury.
Expect More, Receive More: Legal Support That Feels Like Family
Common Settings of Preventable Child Injuries
Child injuries can happen almost anywhere, but certain places present more risk than others, especially when safety rules are ignored. These are some of the most common settings where preventable injuries occur.
- Schools and Daycares: Florida schools and childcare centers are required to follow strict safety and supervision standards. In some cases, injuries can be grounds for legal claims.
- Playgrounds and Parks: Sanibel operates several public parks. If your child is injured on unsafe equipment or due to poor maintenance, the city may be responsible.
- Streets and Parking Lots: If your child was injured in a motor vehicle accident, drivers, property owners, or even the city may share fault depending on the circumstances.
- Sports and After-School Programs: Injuries during youth sports can happen. However, if a coach or staff member failed to act reasonably, they may be liable.
- Swimming Pools: Florida law requires safety features like fences and alarms under the Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act. If a child drowns or is injured due to a lack of these protections, the pool owner may be liable.
- Stores, Malls, and Restaurants: Businesses must keep their property safe for visitors, including children. If they don’t, you may have a claim under Florida premises liability law.
There are many other sources of preventable child injuries. For example, you may be able to sue a toy manufacturer for a child’s injury if they sold a defective or dangerous product. Our Sanibel child injury lawyers can help you understand your rights and options.
(239) 334-3933
Understanding Comparative Negligence in Florida
It’s important to understand comparative negligence and how it applies in Florida. Essentially, it means that if your child is found partly at fault for their own injury, any compensation may be reduced by their percentage of fault.
Under Florida law, children under six are generally not considered capable of negligence. For older children, courts consider their age, maturity, and understanding when deciding if they share any blame.
Even if your child is partially responsible, you can still bring a claim; however, your award will be reduced by your child’s percentage of responsibility for the accident.
Click To ContactGet Help from Our Child Injury Lawyers in Sanibel
Getting hurt now and then is part of growing up, and bumps and bruises are going to happen. However, it’s an entirely different matter when another person’s negligence leads to a serious and preventable injury to your child.
It’s heartbreaking to watch your child struggle with the physical and mental challenges that come with a major injury. While we wish we could take away their pain, our child injury attorneys in Sanibel can do the next best thing by helping you hold the at-fault party accountable.
At Viles & Beckman, our team has over four decades of combined experience helping injured victims get the compensation they need to rebuild their lives. Call today to schedule a free consultation and find out how we can help.
