Some of the most emotionally challenging cases personal injury law firms take on are those where parents are suing on behalf of their child who was injured or killed by a defective toy or other children's product.
If you are a parent who believes your child was seriously injured by a defective toy, then there are many things you need to know.
Personal Injury Cases Involving Children and Defective Products Are Never a DIY Project
While there are many legal documents you can fill out and file yourself in other situations, trying to go after a toy manufacturer for making a defective toy that seriously injured your child is never a DIY project for any parent who isn't already a personal injury attorney by trade.
Product manufacturers have lawyers on their side ready to fight your claim, and they also often have big budgets to fight things in court. In reality, they have no choice but to fight against defect claims as hard as they can. They don't ever want their products recalled or seen as having problems that could injure children, so they will fight tooth-and-nail to win. For these reasons, you must fight this battle with a skilled attorney who can go toe-to-toe with their skilled corporate lawyers.
Defective Toy Cases Have a Statute of Limitations
The length of time is different in each state, but lawsuits over defective toys and child personal injury have a statute of limitations. This means that after a certain number of years, typically anywhere from one to five years, you can no longer file a case even if your child was clearly injured by a toy. Since it may take your attorney a while to build your case and try to settle before filing in the courts, make sure you speak with an attorney as soon as possible after the injury.
Protect Your Child's Access to Government Benefits With a Special Needs Trust or Other Legal Vehicle
Finally, it's important to mention that if your child was seriously injured and will need access to programs such as Medicaid for the rest of their life but is going to receive a large settlement from the toy manufacturer, then you should work with your personal injury attorney to set up a special needs trust or another legal vehicle which will allow your child access to their settlement money in the future without eliminating their access to necessary government benefits.
Share17 October 2019
Hi, my name is Sally. I was living a pretty average, uneventful life until I had an accident. At that point, my life become more stressful and painful than I could have ever imagined. Sadly, my accident happened on private property, and it could have been prevented if the owner of the property had kept up with his shoveling. For months, I missed work, suffered through constant pain and become more and more depressed. Finally, a friend referred me to an accident and injury lawyer, and she showed me how to get the compensation that I deserved. I don't want to see anyone else suffer like I did, and because of that, I decided to create this blog. Here, I hope anyone who has been injured can find the information they need to get fully compensated and regain their lives. Enjoy your reading and thanks for stopping by!