Can I Sue If My Child’s Catastrophic Injury Leads to Death?

 Posted on September 23, 2024 in Wrongful Death

Catastrophic injuries, like spinal cord damage, severe burns, and traumatic brain injuries, often leave victims fighting for their lives. They may experience significant pain during medical treatment, only to eventually lose their fight, dying as a result of their injuries. Although you do not want to see anyone in that situation, it is more devastating when it is your young child.

If someone else caused your child’s catastrophic injuries, you may be entitled to compensation through a wrongful death action. How do you know if you are eligible? What damages could you receive? The compassionate attorneys from Mannarino & Brasfield, A Division of Schwartz Jambois, invite you to discuss your concerns with us during your free consultation.

What Is Wrongful Death?

If someone’s willful action or negligence causes death, eligible survivors may qualify to receive different kinds of compensation through a wrongful death claim. Wrongful death can follow many kinds of accidents or incidents that would qualify for personal injury claims. Common incidents involving young children include:

• Choking on dangerous toys leading to brain damage due to a lack of oxygen
• Drowning in swimming pools that do not have surrounding fences
• Dog bites and attacks 
• Car accidents, potentially involving unsafe car seats
• Severe allergic reactions to medications
• Falling from playground equipment

Most personal injury claims are based on proving that someone’s negligence or intentional action was the direct cause of your injuries and associated losses. In the scenarios mentioned above, potentially liable parties include:

• Toy manufacturers
• Swimming pool and dog owners
• Negligent drivers and car seat manufacturers
• Physicians or other healthcare providers
• Playground equipment manufacturers or negligent daycare facilities that failed to supervise the child

When you work with Mannarino & Brasfield, A Division of Schwartz Jambois, your legal team will investigate the accident, find evidence establishing liability, and help you hold the at-fault party fully accountable for your loss.

What Damages Could You Receive?

Your settlement may include damages for the losses your son suffered before death and for the losses you face as a result of losing him. Damages are sums of money to reimburse or compensate you for specific losses.

Say that your three-year-old son, Alex, was critically injured in a car crash caused by a negligent driver because his defective car seat failed. Alex remained in intensive care in significant pain for five days before passing away.

If Alex had survived, his damages likely included medical expenses and pain and suffering. The at-fault parties may have been the driver and the car seat manufacturer. Although Alex passed away, his eligibility for compensation survived and is passed to you as his next of kin.

You and your remaining immediate family will also suffer from Alex’s death. You will likely have funeral and burial expenses, along with the emotional and psychological trauma of losing your young son. You have lost his love and companionship, and you deserve to see justice done.

It is difficult to place a monetary value on the life of a child. Mannarino & Brasfield, A Division of Schwartz Jambois, cannot tell you what your settlement might include until we investigate the circumstances surrounding your son’s death. However, we will work to ensure that you get every penny you deserve.

Call Our Dedicated Rockford, IL Wrongful Death Lawyers Today

A settlement will not replace your son, but it can help you pay his accident-related expenses and may give you some closure, knowing that the party who took his life is paying your compensation. At Mannarino & Brasfield, A Division of Schwartz Jambois, we want to ease your burden by providing skilled, effective legal representation. Call us at 815-215-7561 for your free consultation with one of our determined Winnebago County, IL catastrophic injury attorneys.