Because experience
really does matter.

Photo of John J. LaCava
  1. Home
  2.  » 
  3. Auto-Pedestrian Accidents Archives
  4.  » Determine who is liable for hitting your child in a driveway

Determine who is liable for hitting your child in a driveway

Thinking about someone running over your child in a driveway is a heart-stopping thought. Sadly, this is what some parents have to deal with. If your child is struck while in a driveway, he or she might suffer from serious injuries that require medical care.

Once you have had a medical professional evaluate your child, you might decide that you are going to take action to seek compensation for the damages that you have to cover. This could include the medical bills, time you had to take off work to care for your child and any other damages that are present. One thing that you will have to determine is who to hold liable for the accident.

There are three main parties who might be held liable in these cases — the driver, the homeowner and the vehicle or component manufacturer. Obviously, the driver would be named here if the accident was because he or she wasn’t paying attention and struck your child. The homeowner might be held liable if he or she didn’t address a dangerous situation like having overgrown shrubs blocking the line of sight. The vehicle or component manufacturer might be held liable if the vehicle had a back-up camera that didn’t pick up your child.

Unfortunately, seeking compensation isn’t going to help your child to feel better or take away the painful memories. A successful claim can help you to cover the financial costs of getting your child medical care and other care that he or she needs to overcome the damaging effects of the horrible driveway accident.

Source: FindLaw, “Driveway Accidents: Who’s Liable When Kids Get Injured?,” Christopher Coble, Esq., accessed June 23, 2017

FindLaw Network