Children may be injured by medical negligence including the manner in which a medical provider managed labor and delivery or later, but also because of sub-standard medical treatment during their pediatric and adolescent years by their pediatrician or other specialty physician.
Like the rest of us, of course, injuries to children can result from other negligence including careless driving, defective products, dangers in their environment, poor supervision–the list is endless.
Claims on behalf of children differ from those of adults in at least two ways. While parents typically have two years to bring a claim for losses and injuries they have suffered because of another’s negligence, children can bring legal claims up to their twentieth birthday in Pennsylvania. As a result, injured children whose conditions may not be recognized until years after they happenned, benefit from a long time window for starting suit.
Pennsylvania courts protect minors’ settlements and judgments requiring such money to be placed in insured and restricted accounts and allowing expenditures only when it can be shown they are for the direct benefit of the child and that the expenses cannot or should not be made out of the parents’ own funds.
While adults who are injured by reason of negligence are sometimes subject to a “blame the victim” defense, where the claim is made that the injured victim was careless in causing his or her own harm, depending on how young a child was at the time of injury, the child can be determined to be incapable of such negligence as a matter of law.
At the Law Offices of Judy Greenwood, P.C., we represent children who have been injured as a result of pediatrician medical malpractice, dangerous properties, auto, and bus accidents, and dangerous playgrounds. Because these cases are often complex, we have access to experts to review the facts of your case as necessary, and to provide the insight necessary to determine if there was negligence or substandard care. If you or your child has been injured and want to discuss your case, please Call (215) 557-7500, or click here to Contact Us, to arrange a Free Consultation. Our experienced attorneys will review what happened, consult with appropriate experts, and let you know what we think.
