Miami Child Injury Lawyer

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Having your child suffer an injury in a car accident or any other situation can be one of the most upsetting and emotional things to experience as a parent or guardian. An experienced Miami Child Injury Lawyer can help you understand your rights and help redress the harm your child has sustained.

Has Your Child Suffered an Injury in Miami?

The Florida health department defines an injury as "physical harm or damage to someone's body."  Injuries can be intentional or unintentional. For example, unintentional injuries can include injuries from car accidents including car accidents involving a pedestrian or bike rider, drownings, falls, firearm-related injuries, medical malpractice, and recreational and sports-related activities. Intentional injuries can be the result of child abuse or neglect.

Common Types of Accidents Resulting in Child Injuries

Car Accidents

The FL Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles finds there were 59,380 criminal vehicle violations in 2019 and 432,988 non-criminal vehicle violations in 2019. Unfortunately, many children are killed or seriously injured by vehicle accidents in Florida each year. Injuries children sustain can include:

• Head injuries such as concussions, fractures, and lacerations
• Rib fractures
• Lung injuries
• Abdominal injuries
• Lower body fractures
• Other internal injuries

Some of these injuries can take time to be displayed in your child. It is important to discuss the injuries with an attorney when your child receives a diagnosis to ensure you do not pass the statute of limitations.

Medical Malpractice

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) indicates that pediatric medical malpractice lawsuits is one of the most common types of medical malpractice lawsuits. Child medical malpractice cases include some of the following:

• Birth injuries and defects
• Misdiagnosis or failing to diagnose an issue
• Prescribing the wrong medication
• Surgical complications

If your child has sustained an injury as a result of a health care professional's rendering of or failure to render medical care, there may be a case for medical malpractice. You should consult an attorney to investigate the matter. You should also consult an attorney as soon as you think there may have been a case of medical malpractice to ensure you file a case within the statute of limitations.

Intentional Injuries

Sadly, there are cases where children face abuse from child care providers. While we should be able to trust daycare providers with the safety of our children, Florida does see cases of daycare related child abuse. Daycare child abuse should be immediately reported to the police. There is likely a legal case against the provider as well.

Children may also receive injuries from family members, coaches, or others.

In these types of cases, there may be legal cases including criminal and civil cases. The criminal case will prosecute the wrongdoer while the civil case will financially redress the harm sustained.

Injuries Sustained from Dangerous Products

Another category of child injuries includes injuries from a product that the parents think is safe. Parents should expect products to be safe and if there are harms caused to the consumer, there may be product liability suits.

Types of products that typically cause harm to children can include:

• Defective Cribs
• Defective car seats
• Defective toys or games
• Defective sporting equipment
• Defective playground equipment or backyard swing sets
• Defective strollers

Under Florida law, there are two standards for product liability - negligence and strict liability. A Florida child injury attorney can help you understand what standard is applicable to your child's case.

Who is Responsible in a Case of Child Injury?

In a case of negligence, the person that owes a duty of care and fails to provide a reasonable level of care is responsible. In each specific case, the culpability depends on the type of injury sustained. For example, in a medical malpractice case, the medical professional involved may be responsible. In a car accident, the driver that caused the accident is responsible. In the case of a defective product, the company that manufactured the product may be liable when the injured party proves that the product is defective, regardless of the defendant's intent. It doesn't matter if the manufacturer was careful or thought the product was safe, if there is a defect in the product that causes harm, the manufacturer is liable for it.

What are the Next Steps When a Child is Injured in Miami?

1. In the case of an intentional injury, police officers should be consulted
2. In the case of an unintentional injury, parents or guardians should take the child to see a medical professional to evaluate the injury.
3. The parents should work with an attorney to investigate the case.
4. The parents should take detailed notes of all information related to the child's case.
5. The parents should keep detailed records of medical bills.