What to Do if Your Child is in a Car Accident

Minors are more likely to die from an auto accident than from any other type of injuries, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Auto accidents are the leading cause of unintentional injury death for children.

As a parent, you do your best to protect your child. When it comes to child safety, most already know and obey Pennsylvania law when it comes to child and booster seats. But what happens when that is not enough? What do you do if your child is in a car accident and has suffered an injury?

You may be tempted to settle with the insurance companies as quickly as possible, but this may not be in your child’s best interest. If your child has been in a car accident, his or her injuries may not appear immediately. This is because children continue to physically develop for several years, and injuries to bones or other developing tissues may not affect them entirely until later in life.

For this reason, Pennsylvania allows a longer statute of limitations for a personal injury claim to be filed for minors. If a child has suffered an injury, a claim may be filed as late as the child’s 20th birthday.

Parents or legal guardians must file any claims for minors, and any settlement must be approved by the court. Any compensation received for the minor will be kept protected until the child turns 18.

Even with the longer deadline, and precautionary measures set by the state, it is not always easy to prove that your child deserves compensation because of a car accident. In order to give your child the best chance of receiving justice, there are some things you will want to do after the accident occurs.

Taking your child to the hospital immediately after the accident is important, even if the child appears to be OK. However, you should also schedule an office visit with your child’s regular primary care professional. A doctor or physician who has seen your child on a regular basis is more likely to notice if there is anything abnormal happening in his or her development due to an injury.

Besides regular visits to the doctor, you may also want to start recording any changes in behavior in your child. Behavioral changes may indicate that your child is suffering from either trauma or a physical injury.

If your child has been injured in an auto accident, contact KBG Injury Law. We’ll fight for the Results You Deserve®.