Were you in a childhood car accident? Many injuries sustained at a young age can follow that person into adulthood. Chronic pain, spinal damage, paralysis, and loss of limbs are all serious injuries. The result is typically the same; your quality of life is not what it should be.
However, you may have some options for financial compensation associated with your injuries. When parents don’t take legal action, the statute of limitations may change. Additionally, under rare circumstances, you may have the opportunity to seek recovery because of the extent of your injuries.
If you’ve been injured in any type of car accident, it may be helpful to get in touch with an experienced auto accident attorney in Lawrenceville.
Statute of Limitations on Car Wrecks
The Georgia Statute of Limitations is generally about two years. But that changes when you have an outstanding issue such as a minor. Regarding settlements, a person can reopen a settlement that closed when they were a child. As a ward or under guardianship, the child will have six years after the guardianship ends, or after ten years.
That means that if the wreck happened when you were four, you could have two situations. The statute of limitation could cease when you turned 14, or six years after you became an adult. However, the variance in that time frame is situational. A judge will ultimately determine if you can reopen your settlement.
Now, if your parents or guardian never filed a claim, that’s a different story. What will normally happen here is that a judge will decide to “toll” a claim option for the minor. Meaning that everything is on pause until the minor becomes an adult.
Can You File for a Childhood Car Accident After You’re An Adult?
If your statute of limitations was tolled, then you may have the opportunity to file your claim. That means you might have the opportunity. However, to really find out, you’ll need an attorney to go through your case and the prior activity on the accident. Even after an attorney looks through it, you may need to get in front of a judge and have them make the final decision.
Often, many people in childhood accidents are told that there’s simply nothing more to do. For others, it works out differently. People are only just starting to realize that children need to have their own lawsuit. Before the last decade or so, parents would always couple their claims with their children’s injuries. Parents are also considering requesting tolling because it’s not clear how far the extent of the injuries could be at the time.
For example, if you’re a child with spinal damage, it’s is extremely unlikely that your parents understood those demands at the time. At a young age, both you and your parents could not have expected the years of medical treatment and rehabilitation.
Another cause for allowing you to file as an adult is the discovery of harm. In these cases, you might have had an accident as a kid, and doctors cleared you medically. Then in adulthood, another doctor diagnoses you with a condition caused by the car accident injury. In car accident cases, this is rare as the discovery of harm usually applies to medical malpractice.
Will You Have a Fighting Chance?
Fighting for any personal injury claim years after the face becomes extremely difficult. But it’s never impossible. Considering the extent of the injuries and damage, you can likely prove your medical debt. You can probably also showcase that your injuries came from that wreck.
Now, you need to show that your parents didn’t take all the legal action possible. Or, that your injuries were downplayed. To accomplish this, you’ll likely need to explain your injuries with an expert witness.
An expert witness in crash recreation and medical analysis should cover it. These two types of experts will show that your injuries came from the crash and demand the ongoing care you need.
Look At Your Case with a Lawrenceville Car Accident Lawyer
Your car accident attorney should always go above and beyond. That’s exactly what you can expect from the team of attorneys at John B. Jackson. Not only can you get support, legal guidance, and in-depth insight into your claim, but you’ll get the explanations needed to make decisions about your settlement or case. Working with a Lawrenceville car accident law firm should make your claim easy and straightforward.
Contact John B. Jackson, the local Lawrenceville car wreck attorneys. Learn if you have the opportunity to file a lawsuit for your childhood car accident. It’s clear that the crash has had a lasting impact. It may have had a larger effect on your quality of life than initially considered.
