Secure Your Child’s Future – Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer for Their Car Accident
Do I Need a Lawyer if My Child is Injured in a Car Accident?
If your child is in a car accident, you may be wondering, “Do I need a lawyer for my child’s personal injury claim?” It depends. Check out our guide on how to settle a personal injury case.
If your world has been flipped upside down by your child’s serious injuries then you need to find a trustworthy personal injury lawyer immediately.
If your child was just shaken up with no medical treatment, then perhaps it is best to settle the case with the insurance company and move on. Whether to hire a lawyer for a small case is a matter of personal preference. However, it never hurts to ask for a free consultation with a personal injury lawyer. Many personal injury lawyers will give you a free case evaluation before you reach a final agreement with the insurance company.
For settlements that are less than $5,000, most insurance companies do not require the settlement to be approved by a judge. To learn more about the process of having a settlement approved by a judge, check out our prior article, “Why does your child’s settlement need to be approved by a judge?”
Usually, hiring a personal injury lawyer is beneficial.
Here are five ways that a parent and child can benefit from hiring a good personal injury lawyer:
Hiring a trustworthy lawyer reduces stress.
As a parent, your only priority should be making sure your child recovers physically and emotionally. After a car accident, many children suffer from temporary PTSD. It may take months or even years for your child to overcome their fear of riding in the car. For more information about PTSD after a car accident, check out our previous article titles, “PTSD After a Car Accident”.
PTSD after a car accident is not only common in young children but also teenagers. Studies show that teenagers who are involved in a car accident obtain their drivers license __ months later than their peers.
Being a parent is more than a full-time job. It is a 24/7/365 job. The last thing that any parent needs is for a child to be involved in an unexpected accident. Any accident is going to create additional stress.
You will be faced with difficult decisions that should not be made alone. Hiring the best personal injury lawyer for your child’s case can reduce the stress. Hiring a lawyer that can relate to your child and put your child at ease is also important.
-
Your lawyer should make sure the insurance company pays the full value of the claim.
You have likely never settled a personal injury case. On the other hand, an experienced personal injury lawyer has handled dozens or even hundreds of car accident cases for minors. Personally, I have settled cases for as little as $1,000 and as much as $4,350,000.
In Alabama, there are several types of damages in a personal injury case that your child is entitled to claim. Another factor in a personal injury case is sympathy. Generally, children are more sympathetic so their cases may be worth more than you realize.
Depending on the severity of your child’s injuries and the available insurance coverage, a lawsuit may need to be filed in order to obtain all the information needed to settle the case for full value.
-
Your lawyer should turn over every stone and look for more insurance coverage.
Turning over every stone typically requires a lawsuit to be filed. If your child is seriously injured, then the at-fault driver may not have enough insurance to cover the damages. A good personal injury lawyer will try to find out if there is more insurance coverage available.
Several years ago, I represented a teenage boy who was in a bad accident. Immediately after my law firm was hired, the at-fault driver’s insurance offered the driver’s policy limits of $1,250,000. However, my client was severely injured, and I suspected that the other driver was working at the time of the crash. After two years of litigation, my law firm was able to bring in the driver’s employer and settle the case for a total of $4,350,000.
-
Your lawyer will negotiate with the health insurance providers.
In Alabama, it is not unusual for hospitals and other providers to file liens. Those liens have to be paid back out of any settlement. However, the hospital liens are almost always inflated. A good personal injury lawyer can negotiate the hospital bills down by as much as 70% in some situations.
If you have private insurance, such as BlueCross BlueShield, then you are contractually obligated to pay back your health insurance provider if you settle your case. Again, a good personal injury lawyer can negotiate with BCBS. It is not unusual for BSBC to reduce their claims by 40%.
-
Your lawyer will help you or your child withdraw money from the clerk’s office when it is unexpectedly needed.
Lastly, in Alabama, your child’s settlement is held by the Circuit Court Clerk until the child reaches the age of 19 years old. But what if you or your child needs those funds before your child turns 19?
There is a process for requesting that some of the settlement funds be released early. If you have a good personal injury lawyer, they will be happy to help you with the request if you or your child need some of the funds early. However, the funds are only available in limited situations.
Conclusion
Your child’s case is your responsibility. As a parent, you want to do what is best for your child. You obviously care about your child and want what is best for them or you wouldn’t be reading and researching. After reading this article, you should know the benefits of hiring a personal injury lawyer for your child’s car accident case.
Without a consultation, it is impossible to say whether you need a lawyer for your child’s case. In 99% of personal injury cases, a free consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer is a no-brainer.
Call or text me at 256-539-8686 for a free, no-pressure consultation. There is no risk.