Unfortunately, each year thousands of children are involved in automobile accidents. Some of those children are seriously injured. When a child suffers serious injuries stemming from an auto accident, the process of filing a claim is a little different than when an adult files a claim.

 

Because the parents are the ones who have to suffer the financial burden of taking care of a child who has been injured in a car accident, they have the right to collect on damages too. However, auto accident cases often involve two types of damages: compensatory and non-compensatory.

 

Compensatory damages are financial damages such as medical bills and property damages. These damages are awarded to the parent. However, the non-compensatory damages such as pain and suffering are awarded to the child.

 

In every state, people have limited time in which to file a lawsuit. In most cases, the statute of limitations is around two years. However, when children are injured in car accidents or any other type of accident that would require a personal injury claim, the statute of limitations is extended for them. The theory is that since children are not allowed to make legal decisions for themselves they should not suffer without compensation should their parents decide not to file a lawsuit for one reason or another. So, children have the same two years as adults to file an auto accident claim but the countdown starts for them after they have turned eighteen. View http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/litigation for the definition of litigation.

 

The parents must file within two years however. In most cases, the parents file a lawsuit in tandem with the lawsuit they bring on behalf of their child. The parent's lawsuit and the child's lawsuit are two, distinct cases however. But most of the time the same auto accident attorney from www.siegfriedandjensen.com will represent both the parents and the child.

 

Should the parents be successful in their lawsuit, they will receive compensation shortly after the case has concluded. The money that is awarded to the child will not be available until the child has legally become an adult. Courts will often dictate that the parents put the money is some type of trust that they do not have access to.

 

In cases involving children, it is a good idea that parents hire an auto accident attorney who has experience with similar cases. Pain and suffering is something that is hard to put a dollar amount on and something that can be hard to convince juries of. Since the money that the child receives will only be for non-compensatory damages, it is important to hire a lawyer from this original site who has experience convincing juries of the severity of non-compensatory damages.