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Children injured by negligence are entitled to a lawyer. It is the responsibility of the parent or guardian to meet with a lawyer, hire the lawyer, and sign the retainer agreement on behalf of the child. In New Jersey, anyone under the age of 18 cannot sign a retainer with a lawyer.
A Hackensack Child Injury Lawyer can fight for you and your child. Schedule a free personal injury consultation as soon as possible with a personal injury lawyer at O’Cathain Law Group Personal Injury Law Department.
The OLG Personal Injury Department is headed by Domhnall O’Cathain, who’s a father himself in Bergen County— we have the knowledge, the compassion and the skill necessary to fight for your family.
Every case is different, so it depends upon the circumstances. Our Hackensack child injury attorneys have represented children and their families in these kinds of cases:
We file a lawsuit against the negligent person and negligent business. The negligent person and negligent business then gives a copy of the lawsuit to its insurance company. The insurance company then sends the lawsuit to one of its lawyers who files paperwork with the court.
In New Jersey, the legal fee on the settlement of a child’s lawsuit is 25%. It goes up to 33% if the case needs to go to trial. The retainer agreement for a Hackensack Child Injury lawsuit should state that the legal fee is 25% if the case settles before trial.
Remember, you need a lawyer when the child has been injured. If the insurance company tries to settle a child’s case with you directly, you need to report the insurance company.
Any settlement of a lawsuit with a child must be signed off by a New Jersey judge. The judge will then order that the child’s settlement money be kept by the court until the child turns 18. The parent/guardian does not get to keep the money and put into a separate account.
If the child suffered injuries that require on-going care and costs, the judge can order that money is made available for those costs before the child turns 18. It is the judge’s job to do what the judge thinks is right for the child. It is your lawyer’s job to show the judge what is right for the child.
If you meet with a lawyer who says that you and your child might need to have different lawyers, you should feel good. Why? Because it means that the lawyer knows how to do the right thing.
For example, if you were and your child were injured while you were driving, the other driver might say that you are partially at fault even though you know you were not at fault. If this happens, the same lawyer cannot represent you and your child.
Yes. You need a law firm with a certified civil trial lawyer who has experience handling child injury cases.
Because a lot of child injuries happen in public areas that are owned by towns, the county, or the State New Jersey, your lawyer might need to file a Notice of Claim. This is a very important document that most New Jersey lawyers are not familiar with filling out. Hackensack Child Injury Lawyer Donny O’Cathain is familiar with them.
Our firm’s motto is Move Forward. We’re here to help you with that, because in addition to being practicing lawyers in New Jersey, we’re parents too.