Every parent fears that their child will become involved in a serious car crash. Despite every driver’s desire to avoid hitting another person — especially a young child — these accidents unfortunately do happen.. At the same time, the law has systems in place to deal with a car accident involving a pedestrian.
Recently, a 14-year-old boy was airlifted to a hospital in Worcester after he sustaining serious head injuries when a car hit him while he was riding a bicycle in Milford. Police said the cause of the accident is still under investigation, but suggested that the boy was on his bicycle crossing the street. The woman driving the car has not been charged with any crime as of yet.
For a person injured in a car accident to file a successful claim against the negligent party, the injured person generally must show that the responsible party didn’t exercise reasonable care under the circumstances. When children are present, drivers must be especially careful.
Likewise, when the parties involved in an accident shared responsibility for the incident, a Massachusetts court may reduce his or her recovery in proportion to his or her share of the blame. This is called contributory negligence.
However, things get more complicated when the injured person was a child. Generally, very young children are considered incapable of contributory negligence, simply because they are considered too young to exercise reasonable care. Because of this, drivers are expected to be more cautious than usual when children are present and may be held to a higher than normal standard.
While all accidents are unfortunate, it is important for other people who have seen their loved ones injured or been injured themselves to understand the complexity of personal injury laws. A car accident can leave an injured person with a mountain of medical expenses and other costs, and a personal injury lawsuit can make a big difference.
Source: Milford Patch, “Boy Hit on Bicycle Near Milford Library,” Mary MacDonald, Oct. 1, 2012
