You can sue a kid on a tricycle for knocking you down and hurting you
It is an unfortunate situation when a child or teenager (on a tricycle?) hurts you and you have to take legal action. Nobody really wants to do this, but as any accident lawyer in New York will tell you; you sometimes have no choice. Your injury could be so bad as to require hefty medical expenses and lost time at work, meaning lost income. New York does offer various ways to sue a minor if you believe you have a personal injury claim against them.
Why would you sue a minor?
As we said, nobody wants to have to sue a child, but there are times when you have no other choice. Depending upon the extent of the injury, you could have a build up of medical expenses, physical immobility, lost time at work, lost income, etc. Bringing up a personal injury claim against a minor, with the help of a New York accident lawyer, could bring you monetary compensation to help cover your expenses.
How can you sue a minor?
There are two legal options that you have in response to a minor’s actions. First, you can sue the minor directly. However, these cases are rarely successful and, even if you do win, the child or teenager will most likely not have the funds to cover what the court has ruled he or she owes you. However, you can bring a lawsuit against the minor and his or her legal guardian(s). Here, with the help of a New York accident lawyer, you will have a much greater chance of being successful and can sue for both personal and property damages caused by the minor although homeowners insurance will usually cover these types of accidents.
Parental negligence
Depending on the age of the child, you may be able to sue based on the concept of parental negligence. This means that the child may not be responsible for his or her actions because their age does not allow them to understand those actions. The best thing you can do is to hire a New York accident lawyer to sue the minor and their parents for compensation.
Malicious intent and willful misconduct
It is possible that parents will not be held liable for their child’s actions if the child was acting in a negligent manner. However, the idea of “malicious intent and willful misconduct” can put blame and liability on the parents of the minor. If the child, most likely a teenager, acted in a way that was purposeful and intended to cause harm, especially if a weapon or direct permission of the parents was involved, then the parents are responsible to pay for personal and property damages. For further advice on this, please consult with an accident lawyer in New York.
What you need for your case
An accident lawyer in New York will be able to help organize your case and evidence. Mainly, they will gather evidence of the incident, itself, including photos and videos of the act or damages, witnesses, etc. They will help you gather evidence of everything, such as damage reports, medical reports, insurance statements, witness statements, etc. Gathering this evidence will help you organize your case and increase your likelihood of success.