What Should I Do if My Child is in a Car Accident?

An experienced attorney can help protect your child for the future

Call Pistotnik Law as soon as possible after the incident. It’s a nightmare for any parent. Your son or daughter is seriously injured in a car accident.  This includes when your child is crossing a street and hit by a car. Or your child is a passenger in any vehicle and gets injured. Someone’s negligence caused the wreck, but your child could be affected for the rest of his or her life. You are angry, concerned, confused, and overwhelmed with what’s next. We can help.

PISTOTNIK LAW has a history of standing up for children and families after car accidents in Wichita and Kansas. If your son or daughter was a passenger in a car accident, or struck as a pedestrian, we will fight for the compensation your child deserves. Give us a call today for a free and confidential consultation.

What Should I Do If My Daughter or Son Was a Passenger in a Wichita or Kansas Car Accident

Your top priority, after calling the police, is your child’s health. Call an ambulance or take your child to an emergency room (not an urgent care clinic) to get checked out, then schedule a follow-up appointment with your pediatrician or family doctor. The attorneys at Pistotnik Law can help coordinate medical care, if need be.  Make sure you inform the doctors and their staff of ALL body parts with possible injury and follow the doctor’s instructions, go to all medical appointments, and document everything. This is important for your child’s health but also for their legal rights.

A car accident can be a deeply traumatic event, and helping a child after a car accident includes addressing their mental and emotional health in addition to their physical health. Talk with your child and watch your child to make sure your child knows that he or she is safe, cared for, and loved and that medical treatment will help restore them to health. Don’t hesitate to ask your pediatrician for a referral to a therapist or child psychologist to help cope with the mental health effects of the accident.

Help your child with documentation. Contact an attorney at Pistotnik Law as soon as possible, before you speak to the insurance company, to protect your child’s rights and our attorneys will start an independent investigation. Take pictures of the accident scene, as well as any property damage and any visible injuries. Get names and contact information for any witnesses. Get a copy of the police accident report, when it becomes available. Of course, our office will do that for you once hired.

What Should I Do If My Child Was Struck By a Car While Crossing a Street?

Unfortunately, children, especially younger ones, get struck by cars as they cross the street.  The general rule of law is that a pedestrian crossing the street outside of a crosswalk has to yield right of way to cars on the street.  If crossing in a crosswalk, the driver has to yield to the pedestrian, as long as the pedestrian is adhering to the traffic signal or walk sign.

With the Kansas comparative fault laws, when a child is crossing outside a crosswalk, the insurance companies have an argument that the child’s fault is 50% or greater and therefore the child is not eligible for a settlement.  However, an experienced lawyer, like those at Pistotnik Law know how to use the laws to benefit the injured child.  Even when it seems the child is at fault, we have successfully handled many of these children accidents to get a settlement for the child based on the fault of the driver.  It is extremely important to contact us as soon as possible after the pedestrian/car wreck so that we can represent and protect the child from normal insurance company tactics.  These accidents typically involve more serious injuries and higher medical expenses and our experienced lawyers fight hard to maximize the settlement for the child.

What Is the Average Settlement for a Child in a Car Accident?

Every child’s case is valued based on the facts of how the accident occurred and the nature and extent of injuries and damages; it depends on your child’s injuries and the effects on his or her life. Costs and damages that should be accounted for in a settlement include:

• Medical expenses, both past and future. This can be substantial if your child’s injuries will require a lifetime of medical care.
• Medication and medical devices, such as mobility aids.
• Lost future income or lost earning capabilities if your child now has a significant disability or the injury affected development.
• Pain and suffering, emotional distress, and mental anguish. Pain and suffering for a child in a car accident is a larger component of the recovery than it would be for an adult since juries are normally sympathetic to any child suffering an injury.
• Modifications to your home or vehicle to accommodate a disability.
• Property damage to the vehicle your child was riding in and any other personal property.

An attorney will assess the case and determine the damages due to the accident. Your attorney may need to hire expert witnesses, such as doctors, child psychologists, or economists, to estimate those long-term costs. The first step is to schedule a free consultation with an experienced car accident lawyer.

What Can I Do If My Son or Daughter Was Killed in a Car Accident?

In Kansas, when a minor child dies due to negligence, their parent or parents (whether biological or adopted) can file a wrongful death claim. Some of the losses you can recoup in a wrongful death lawsuit include:

• Medical expenses, pain and suffering, and other costs sustained by your child prior to death
• Bereavement
• Loss of companionship and society
• Emotional distress and mental anguish resulting from losing a child
• The calculated net value of services the child received
• Funeral and burial expenses
• In some cases, punitive damages

No lawsuit can make up for the loss of a child. No parent would give up even one more day with their child for any amount of money. However, pursuing accountability and justice for your child’s death can help provide a degree of closure. We’ve helped many families in these heartbreaking situations, and we would be honored to represent you and explain your legal options.

Talk To an Experienced Lawyer About Your Child’s Car Accident

If your child was hurt in a car wreck, it is very important to get legal representation early after a car wreck. Kansas law does relax some legal deadlines when the victim of an accident is a minor, but failing to pursue the case timely can hurt the value of the case. The wreck needs to be investigated and important evidence needs to be secured before it disappears. And you need someone to handle the insurance company and deal with the paperwork while you focus on your child’s health and your family’s future.

That’s why you need to contact Pistotnik Law. We have the experience and resources to stand up for Wichita and Kansas children who are hurt by negligent drivers, and we will fight hard for your child’s rights to maximize their settlement. Schedule your free consultation today; you can come to our office in Wichita, or we can come to you. No cost, no obligation, just free advice and answers about your child’s rights.

When My Child’s Case Gets Settled, Can I Use the Money to Pay for Living Expenses of My Child?

 The answer is no.  Kansas courts are required to protect children when a settlement on an injury case happens.  The case is pursued for the benefit of the child and the proceeds of the settlement are the child’s money, and the funds cannot be used by the parent.  The main exception is the claim for medical expenses which belongs to the parent, because the parent has a legal obligation to provide for the child, including paying the child’s medical bills that arise from a car accident.

Sometimes the settlement has to be approved by the Kansas Courts which means a judge has to review the settlement and determine if the settlement is fair, just and equitable and make sure settlement proceeds are preserved for the child until the child reaches age 18.

Judges have the discretion to use part of the settlement proceeds to reimburse the parent for the medical expenses.  Also Kansas judges have the discretion to release funds prior to age 18 for unusual circumstances, like educational needs.

The Kansas law that determines whether or not a court approved settlement is required is K.S.A. 38-152.  That statute allows an alternative procedure to settle a child’s case when the child is receiving $25,000 or less, after attorney fees, costs, medical bills, and liens.  That statute provides the funds can be paid to a child’s bank account without a court hearing.

Should I Replace My Child’s Car Seat After a Car Wreck?

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommends replacing child car seats after a moderate or severe accident, even if the seat itself is not visibly damaged. Most car seat manufacturers recommend replacing their products after any accident, no matter how minor.  Most insurance companies will pay for the cost of a replacement child car seat as long as there is at least a significant amount of damage to the vehicle involved.

If you do have to replace your car seat, then that cost should be accounted for in your recovery – in other words, even if the seat itself was not visibly damaged, if it has to be replaced, that is “property damage” as far as your settlement or verdict is concerned.  The property damage is handled by the property damage insurance adjuster and normally not handled by the bodily injury insurance adjuster.