What Types Of Personal Injury Law Cases Involve Children?
When you are a lawyer handling personal injury cases, you can’t help but feel sadness and empathy for your clients who are injured. You may represent a client for up to three or four years and in most cases, you never know that person to be in good health. By the time I meet the client, they are already injured, sometimes very seriously. Obviously, you wish for a speedy recovery but sometimes that doesn’t happen. I have seen many clients who live in constant pain from accidents involving automobiles, medical malpractice, nursing home neglect, dog bites and slip and falls.
What’s worse than representing an injured client, is an injured client who is a child. Childhood is the time in our lives when we’re supposed to have no problems, no worries, and certainly, no health issues. Unfortunately, I have represented dozens of children who have been injured by the negligence of others. A few memories stand out after so many years practicing personal injury law in Chester County, PA.
Birth Injury Medical Malpractice Cases In Chester County
The most horrific cases are those involving a child injured at birth. Some birth issues are God’s work, but others arise from physician and nursing negligence. I have represented children who would have been completely healthy were it not for a delay in their delivery in the hospital. These were cases where there were signs of fetal distress, yet the nursing staff either did not bring it to the attention of the doctor or the doctor disregarded the signs of distress from a fetal monitor. The children were born with Cerebral Palsy which not only has a life altering effect on the child, but also on the parents and siblings as well. The attorney cannot help but share in the sadness.
Child Personal Injury Cases From Dog Bites
I represented a 5 year old boy who was mauled by a Pit Bull. The wound required several surgeries and not only left the child with a horrendous scar but a limitation in his mobility. When you have to present a dog bite personal injury case and your damages include not being able to play with the other children, it tugs on your heart.
Doctor & Hospital Child Illness Misdiagnosis
Of course, there are those cases in which death prevents you from ever meeting your client. A child contracted Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever during a summer camp. Both the doctors and the hospital failed to make a timely medical diagnosis. If the proper medication was given, there would have been a complete recovery. It was not, and because of this medical misdiagnosis the child, 8 years of age, died from the disease. Although I never met the little girl, through family pictures, videos and stories about her, I felt that I knew her.
Sometimes I wish I only did commercial litigation where the worst problem a client has is a loss of money.
Stephen Karp
