You can’t keep your kid locked away in a bubble wrap suit. And even if you could, you wouldn’t because watching them explore and learn from their mistakes is one of the best things about being a parent. But sometimes life lessons hurt a little too much. If your child is injured, you should not hesitate to file an insurance claim or a lawsuit, no matter where the accident occurred. This is true even if the accident happened at your child’s friend’s house.
I Don’t Want To Be “That Parent”
Nobody wants to be “that parent.” The one that is overprotective and gets made fun of behind their back for asking if the bananas are organic, but when your child is injured at someone else’s home or business, you need to be a bit of a pain in the you-know-what to make sure your child fully recovers from his or her injury.
Kids Will Be Kids
If nobody is really at fault for the accident — your kid was just being a kid and got hurt — you should still ask the owner of the home where the accident occurred to make a claim against their homeowner’s insurance. If you were in their shoes you would not hesitate to make a claim, so you shouldn’t feel bad for asking them to make one.
We would recommend working with an attorney to make the claim so that you have a third party hassling them for paperwork and pushing the case along. It can help you preserve your friendship, and if your friends get upset about something, we give you permission to blame us!
Negligent or Reckless Behavior Calls for a Bit More Attention
If you find out that your child was injured because their host was inattentive or encouraged activities they should have known were dangerous, you may need to file a lawsuit against them in addition to making a claim against their homeowner’s insurance.
We know this can be a difficult decision to make, but you trusted them with your child, and they put them in danger. That friendship is probably already over, and your reputation will not suffer from holding them accountable.
You are not reaping a windfall because your child got a boo-boo. You are being paid back for the money you or your insurance company would otherwise have to spend to treat your child’s injuries and put him or her in the position he or she would be in if the accident had never occurred.
9.2 Million Trips to the ER
The Centers for Disease Control estimates that children under the age of 19 will make 9.2 million trips to the emergency room each year. When your child is counted among this number, you must be prepared to take legal action. Most accidents lead to a simple homeowner’s claim, but if your child was injured because another parent was negligent or reckless, you should not hesitate to contact a personal injury attorney and file a lawsuit.
Posted in: Personal Injury