Average Settlement for a Child in a Car Accident in NC
When you have been in a car accident and you or others in the car, whether it be a child or an adult, have sustained injuries, you are facing the challenge of assessing your damages for a settlement. There is no average settlement for either a child or an adult who has been injured in a car accident. The settlement will be derived from several factors, including both economic and non-economic losses. A car accident attorney, like Hank Doyle at The Doyle Law Offices, P.A. has experience working with victims of car accidents and helping them with their case.
Factors Involved in Determining a Car Accident Settlement
Some of the factors that are involved in determining a potential car accident settlement include:
Severity of Injuries
The most important factor in determining the value of a potential car accident settlement is the severity of the victim’s injuries. The less severe, the smaller the settlement. When there are more severe injuries, like broken bones, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injuries, and amputations, requiring long-term and expensive medical treatments, the greater the settlement amount will be.
At Fault
A strong claim is based on your ability to prove fault by the other driver. As North Carolina is a “contributory negligence” state, if you are even partially responsible for the accident you are not eligible to recover damages.
Lost Wages
If you are unable to work for a period of time as a result of being injured in a car accident, you may be entitled to recover compensation to make up for lost wages.
Loss of Future Earnings
You may be left unable to work in the same capacity as you were prior to the accident. A car accident settlement can take into account your lost earning potential and compensate you accordingly.
Pain and Suffering
A car accident settlement can take into account your pain and suffering from emotional trauma and loss of quality of life. The more pain and suffering you can document, the larger the potential settlement may be.
Types of Car Accident Damages to Recover for You and Your Child
The circumstances of the car accident determine the damages you can secure for you and your child’s injuries. You could secure compensation to pay for these expenses and losses:
- Medical bills
- Vehicle repair or replacement
- Lost wages, tips, benefits, and bonuses
- Mobility aids
- Past and future mental anguish (yours and your child’s)
- Past and future pain and suffering (yours and your child’s)
- Loss of enjoyment of life (yours and your child’s)
- Lost future earning capacity
Healthcare Costs
Children’s physiology makes them more vulnerable to traffic injuries than adults. Depending on the nature of the injury, healthcare costs could be lifelong. Liable parties may be responsible for medical expenses. Injuries to a child in a car accident may ensue healthcare costs such as:
- Ambulance services
- Imaging services
- Diagnostic doctor’s visits
- Emergency treatment
- Surgery
- Follow-up treatment
- Rehabilitative services
Cost of Pain and Suffering
Trauma from a car accident can affect children in serious ways. A child may suffer anxiety, depression, and other lasting symptoms because of a car accident. These issues are categorized as pain and suffering and may result from:
- Physical pain from injuries
- Psychological pain
- Emotional pain
- Loss of quality of life
- Loss of a child’s ability to interact normally with family and friends
A child victim may experience lasting emotional and psychological trauma from a car accident, requiring ongoing psychological therapy, specific targeted therapies, and medication.
Loss of Life
If you lost a child due to a car accident, damages cannot heal your pain but they can help take some of the financial strain off you and your loved ones. You could seek the following damages in a wrongful death claim:
- Funeral and burial costs
- Your child’s medical costs before their passing
- Your mental anguish
- Therapy costs
How the Accident Could Have Occurred
It’s important to determine how the accident occurred, what the circumstances were that caused the car accident, and who is legally liable for the accident. Your accident could have been attributed to any of these situations:
A Driver Was Operating Their Vehicle Negligently or Recklessly
Your accident might have been caused due to a driver who was operating their vehicle in a way that put you and your family at risk. Some possibilities are:
- Driving while drowsy
- Driving while intoxicated
- Driving distracted
- Driving aggressively
- Failing to respond to environmental conditions, such as weather
An Employer Was Negligent
If you were hit by a commercial truck driver or a food delivery vehicle, you may be able to assign responsibility to the driver’s employer. You and your lawyer can look for proof that there was negligence on the employer’s part. Such cases as the employer:
- Not performing a background check on the vehicle driver
- Knew about past DUIs on the driver’s record and hired him/her regardless
- Encouraged the driver to speed or drive recklessly to make a deadline
What Role Can Your Attorney Play
Your attorney plays an important role in gathering evidence and documentation in supporting your case. An experienced legal professional such as Hank Doyle provides value at a time that is extremely stressful and emotional by being the objective party to secure documentation for your case by:
- Visiting the scene of the collision
- Speaking with witnesses
- Speaking with doctors
- Speaking with experts in the fields of medicine, crash dynamics, and other relevant studies
- Photographing and videoing your injuries
- Photographing and videoing property damage
- Obtaining psychological assessments for non-physical trauma
Contact a Experienced Attorney If You Have Been in a Car Accident
Hank Doyle is experienced in car accident cases involving injuries. He can take the burden of researching, collecting documentation, and determining damages. Contact The Doyle Law Offices, P.A. by calling (984) 235-1067 or fill out the form below.
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