Young Boy’s Foot Amputated After Drunk Driving Accident

by Kevin Duffan

Kevin is a Virginia injury attorney who handles car accidents, medical malpractice, wrongful death, etc.

9/29/2011
Kevin Duffan
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Young Boy’s Foot Amputated After Drunk Driving Accident

As a father and Virginia (VA) car accident injury attorney, it's the wrecks that involve children that bother me the most. Many times there is nothing the parent driver can do to prevent the accident that harms their children. But in rare occasions, the parent causes the accident. This was the case in Lancaster, California (CA), when six children were injured in a rollover crash.

The crash was caused by the children's mother, who was arrested on suspicion of driving drunk/DWI. The children, who range in age from 10 months to 11 years old, were seriously injured. Some of the children were partially ejected from the vehicle, and the 10 month old had to have his food amputated.

There's just no excuse for the kind of behavior the mother displayed. It made me sick to my stomach to hear about that poor child who will be permanently injured because of such a selfish act.

The question that is raised here is whether the children will have to suffer for the sins of the mother. What are the legal rights of an injured child?

I've been asked this question multiple times because some people are under the impression that in a court of law, a child's legal rights are trumped by the parent's rights. This is not the case. In Virginia, North Carolina (NC), and most other states, there is no longer any "interfamily legal immunity" in car accident cases or most other situations. This means that if a family member driving a motor vehicle is careless or negligent and winds up injuring a relative who is a young child or teen, the child or teen may bring a claim under the law against his or her own parent or family member.

Keep in mind, most insurance policies -- car or homeowner -- protect and provide coverage to a parent or family member for a careless or negligent act, whether they are sued by any third party, or by their own family member. If your child is injured in a car accident or in any other way, I recommend reading the Virginia (VA) Child and Teen Safety Guide.

Category: Car Accident Lawyers & Motorcycle Accident Attorneys

Labels: amputated foot child injuries children injured drunk driving injured child VA child injury lawyer Virginia child injury attorney

About the Editors: Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton is a Virginia Beach, VA-based injury law firm whose attorneys focus on personal injury and accident law and we have handled thousands of car accident, truck wreck, and motorcycle crash cases. Check out our case results to see for yourself.

We've handled car accident cases throughout Virginia including Richmond, Fairfax, Alexandria, and the Hampton Roads region including Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Hampton, Portsmouth, Newport News, and Suffolk.

Our primary office is in Virginia Beach at the intersection of Diamond Springs Road and Northampton Boulevard. We also have an office on Eaton Street in Hampton. All of our accident injury attorneys were raised in Virginia and have deep roots with the community.

Our Virginia injury law firm has been recognized as one of the best injury law firms in Virginia by U.S. News & World Report since 2010. Rick Shapiro and James Lewis have been listed on the National Million Dollar Advocates Forum since 2009 and included among the Best Lawyers in America since 2008. Rick and Jim were named Virginia Super Lawyers for Personal Injury Law since 2010, an honor fewer than 5 percent of lawyers receive. In addition, we were the first injury law firm in Virginia to join Primerus, a select group of highly ethical and respected law firms.

We also offer free special reports on distracted driving and the Best Guide to Car Accident Injuries in Virginia.

While not every injury case meets our criteria, we offer a free, initial confidential injury case consultation, so call us at 1-800-752-0042. If you cannot get through due to high call volume, please leave a voicemail and we will get back to you shortly.

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Young Boy’s Foot Amputated After Drunk Driving Accident

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