My son recently sustained severe injuries to his skull after a car accident, is it possible to claim compensation for a cranial fracture for my child?
Provided that the negligence of a third party can be established, it should be possible to claim compensation for a cranial fracture for your son. A cranial fracture injury can be highly serious, and compensation may be required for your son’s medical treatment and educational needs. However making a claim for cranial fracture will be different for a child, and the process may be unfamiliar. For this reason you are advised to first consult a personal injury lawyer at the earliest opportunity if you wish to claim compensation for your son’s cranial fracture accident.
Pursuing compensation for a cranial fracture for a minor will be different as under USA law, a child cannot initiate a claim or instruct a lawyer to do so on their behalf, and must wait until they turn eighteen years of age in order to make a claim. For this reason, a litigation friend must be appointed in order to make a claim for a cranial fracture injury. This litigation friend is often a parent or guardian of the child, must first be approved by the court and cannot hold a conflict of interest in the child’s claim – for instance, a parent or guardian cannot act as a litigation friend if they were the negligent driver who caused your child’s cranial fracture accident. A litigation friend must also be prepared to accept any liability which may come with a claim for cranial fracture, meaning they could be liable for their own legal fees as well as the legal fees of the defence should the claim be unsuccessful.
Once compensation for a cranial fracture is agreed upon, the compensation amount must be approved by the court, after which the amount will be paid into court funds. Once the child turns eighteen, the compensation for cranial fracture injury will be released to them – however if funding is required in the meantime to pay for educational or medical requirements, some funds may be released upon application to the court. The amount of funding to which your child may be entitled for their cranial fracture accident will depend upon a number of elements, meaning that in order to receive an accurate figure for your child’s claim for cranial fracture a personal injury lawyer should be consulted at the earliest opportunity.
A claim for cranial fracture can be made at any point between the time of the accident and when the child turns twenty-one years of age. This may seem like sufficient time to make a claim for a cranial fracture injury – however if compensation is needed to pay for medical or educational requirements, you are advised to consult a lawyer without delay. It is also important to remember that evidence to support your cranial fracture accident can be misplaced or forgotten over time, and the strength of the claim weakened as a result. For this reason, the professional advice of a personal injury lawyer should be sought at the earliest opportunity if you wish to claim compensation for a cranial fracture for your child.