Child Injury
If your child has suffered injuries while in the care of another person, in a car crash or as a result of participation in some activity, it can be a very unexpected and stressful experience. You want to make sure your child is not harmed and to make everything better if they have been hurt. Although no person wants to involve their child in a lawsuit, hiring an experienced Denver personal injury lawyer for your child’s injuries may be in your child’s best interest and can help your child receive full and fair compensation for their injuries and losses.
Under Colorado law, a child or a minor under the age of 18 is considered a person under disability, which means they are incapable of taking legal action on their own. Although in most cases a statute of limitations (SOL) begins to run immediately after the injuries occurred, since your child is considered under disability, their statute of limitations may not begin to run until a later date. Each type of injury case is different. If your child is injured due to the negligence of a third party, it is critical that you consult with a Denver personal injury attorney immediately to educate yourself regarding the potential deadlines for filing suit against the negligent party. Also, if you, as the parent, incurred economic losses as a result of your child’s injuries, your ability to pursue a claim for your own damages is time limited. If you do not settle your claims or file a lawsuit within the appropriate period of time, you may be forever barred from recovering your own economic losses.
In Colorado, probate court approval is required before a personal injury case involving a minor can be settled. The rules for seeking approval of a minor’s personal injury settlement are very specific. Jennifer Donaldson has experience navigating this system on behalf of her clients and will guide you through this potentially complicated process.
Denver Child Injury Attorney
Contact the Law Office of Jennifer L. Donaldson today at (303) 458-5000 for a consultation about your child’s injuries from another person’s negligence throughout Denver and the surrounding areas of Boulder, Longmont, Lakewood, Arvada, Aurora, Thornton, Westminster, Centennial and Littleton. Attorney Jennifer L. Donaldson is experienced in Colorado’s personal injury laws as they pertain to children and will provide compassionate and skilled representation to help you and your minor child obtain full and fair compensation for the injuries, damages and losses you have suffered as a result of the negligent actions of another person. Call the Law Office of Jennifer L. Donaldson for a consultation today about your child’s personal injury claim today.
Denver Child Injury Information Center
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Child Injury Claims in Denver
Child injury claims in Colorado can occur in any of the following situations:
- Attractive Nuisance – An attractive nuisance is something that is attractive to a child and entices them into a condition that is dangerous for the child. Attractive nuisance examples can include machinery, swimming pools, lakes, boats, cars and animals.
- Child Care Accidents – If your child was in the care of another person or was at day care and injured due to the conditions of the day care facility or lack of supervision, you may have a claim for negligence.
- Negligent Supervision – Negligent supervision cases often arise in a day care facility or where another person was responsible for the care of your child. If your child was injured while in the care of another person because that person failed to exercise reasonable care and control over the child, you may be able to recover damages for your child’s injuries.
- School Accidents – If you child was injured at school as a result of another person’s negligence, you may be able to recover damages for their injuries. These injuries can include slip and falls on school property, school bus accidents or sports-related accidents. However, since many schools are public institutions, the negligent party would likely be subject to the government liability rules in personal injury cases. This means, if a child has been injured at a public school, notice must be provided to the governmental entity within 180 days of the cause of action.
- Child Abuse – If your child was in the care of another person and suffered sexual assault, physical abuse or emotional abuse, your child may be entitled to recover damages for the injuries they sustained as a result of the abuse.
- Car Accident – If you child was a passenger in a car and was injured as a result of a crash, you may be legally entitled to seek compensation for their losses from the at-fault party.
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Elements to a Child Injury Lawsuit in Denver
A negligence lawsuit for your child’s injuries will be based on the following elements:
- Duty – The negligent party must have had a duty to exercise reasonable care, as measured by an ordinary person standard. This duty varies depending on your child’s situation and the individual who was negligent in causing your child’s injuries.
- Breach – The negligent party must have breached their duty of care for your child by committing some act or by failing to act in a certain way.
- Causation – The negligent party’s breach of their duty must have been an actual and proximate cause of your child’s injuries.
- Damages – Your child must have also suffered some type of compensable injury as a result of the negligent party’s breach.
Additionally, your attorney will have to prove the preceding elements by a preponderance of the evidence in order to recover damages for your child’s injuries. A preponderance of the evidence is a burden of proof at trial that is satisfied if the evidence weighs more in your favor than not, or if 51% of the evidence is in your favor.
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Child Injury Damages in Denver
Article 21 of Chapter 13 of the Colorado Revised Statutes defines the various forms of damages your child may recover if they have been injured as a result of someone else’s negligence, including:
- Noneconomic Damages – Noneconomic damages are intended to compensate the child for any non-financial losses they have suffered that burden their personal, economic, or commercial welfare, such as:
- Physical disfigurement or impairment,
- Inconvenience,
- Impairment of life quality,
- Pain and suffering, and/or
- Stress or anguish.
- Economic Damages – Economic damages are intended to compensate the child (or the parent who is legally obligated to pay expenses such as medical bills on their child’s behalf) for any actual or financial loss they have suffered or are expected to suffer as a result of their injuries. These damages are commonly known as compensatory or actual damages.
- Exemplary Damages – In some specific cases, exemplary or punitive damages may be awarded if the jury finds that the injuries were caused by the at fault party’s actions which were attended by circumstance of fraud, malice, or willful and wanton conduct. These damages are intended to punish the driver for actions which go well beyond negligent conduct and are only available in limited situations.
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Law Office of Jennifer L. Donaldson | Child Injury Attorney in Denver
Contact the Law Office of Jennifer L. Donaldson today for a consultation about your child’s personal injury accident in Denver County and the surrounding areas of Boulder County, Jefferson County, Adams County and Arapahoe County. Jennifer Donaldson is a knowledgeable Denver personal injury attorney who will make every effort to help your child recover the compensation they deserve. Contact the Law Office of Jennifer L. Donaldson at (303) 458-5000 for a consultation about your child’s personal injury claim in Denver today.