Abogado de Lesiones Infantiles de San Antonio
Our San Antonio child injury lawyer team has over 35 years of experience handling serious injury cases and has obtained over $85 million in verdicts and settlements in the past five years alone. If your child is injured in the Bexar County area, you need skilled legal representation to build strong cases and fight on your child’s behalf.
Experienced attorney and founder of Ley de Janicek, Beth Janicek, represents the less than 2% of legal advocates who are board-certified injury attorneys under Texas law. The group is known throughout the state for being some of the most compassionate, skilled, and experienced Texas child accident attorneys.
Our personal injury law firm handles children’s injury claims on a contingency fee basis. This means parents or guardians don’t owe any fees unless we win.
To schedule a free consultation, call 210-366-4949.
We Seek Maximum Compensation – Our San Antonio Child Injury Law Firm Results
When a child is injured, the impact goes beyond current medical bills. Our San Antonio child injury lawyer group helps parents recover damages for the current costs and long-term impact on the child’s mental and physical development.
Financial losses include:
- Medical bills (emergency care, surgery, hospitalization)
- Ongoing treatment (therapy, rehabilitation, specialists)
- Future medical care and long-term treatment needs
- Medications, medical devices, home modifications, and assistive equipment
- Counseling and psychological care
- Special education services
- Los salarios perdidos de los padres
- Transportation and out-of-pocket costs
- Reduced earning capacity
- Lifelong care costs
- Dolor y sufrimiento físico
- Emotional trauma or anxiety
- Permanent disability or scarring
- Loss of enjoyment
- Developmental delays or learning difficulties
- Loss of independence
- Ongoing complications
- Effects on relationships, independence, and quality of life
Non-economic damages for the impact on the whole family:
- Emotional strain on the family
- Loss of the child’s ability to contribute
This applies when a child is injured due to gross negligence. Punitive damages are sought to punish wrongdoing and prevent similar conduct.
Beth Wins: Our San Antonio Child Injury Attorneys’ Results
Common Children’s Injury Accidents in San Antonio, Texas
The following are the most common types of accidents involving children in Texas, ranked by frequency:
- child injured in car accident
- wrongful death of a child
- daycare accidents
- child injured by dangerous condition/drowning
- children’s ATV accidents
- dog bite/animal attack on child
- school injuries
- accidentes en campamentos
- children’s sports injuries
- child product defect
- pediatric malpractice
- child sexual abuse & intentional harm
How Child Injury Cases and Adult Personal Injury Cases are Different Under Texas Law
Adult personal injury cases are significantly different than personal injury lawsuits involving children in Texas. Understanding the distinctions can help parents or guardians determine the best course of legal action following serious accidents involving children.
| Factor | Child Injury/Accident | Similarly Situated Adult Injury/Accident |
| Statute of Limitations | Tolled until the minor turns 18, then 2 years to file. | 2 years from the date of injury. |
| Who Files a Claim | A parent, guardian, or “next friend” must file on the child’s behalf under Tex. R. Civ. P. 44. | The injured person files a lawsuit directly. |
| Approval for Settlement Funds | All settlements must be approved by a court to protect the minor’s interests. | None required. |
| Damages Calculation | Must account for decades of future needs: future earning capacity, medical care, impacts of physical development, decades of physical pain, and more. | Based on established earnings and shorter timelines. |
| Application of Negligent Actions | Victims under 5 are generally incapable of contributory negligence; older minors are held to a “child of similar age and experience” standard. | Held to a reasonable adult standard; damages reduced by the percentage of fault. |
| Recovery of Settlements or Awards | Proceeds are usually held in a court-managed trust or structured settlement until the minor turns 18. | The claimant is paid directly. |
| Legal Claims for Parents | Parents can file a claim separately for their own medical bills, lost income, and mental anguish. | Not applicable. |
To learn more, contact a San Antonio child injury attorney from our legal team.
Child Suffers Injuries in Motor Vehicle Accident
Motor vehicle crashes are the most common reason parents sue on a child’s behalf in Texas. Our San Antonio child injury lawyer team often assists when a child is injured in a car accident, truck accident, or other type of accident:
- Child injured as a passenger: Car accident claims against the at-fault party or the parent’s own insurance company for medical bills and trauma.
- Pedestrian accidents y bicycle strikes: Legal claims for children hit in school zones, neighborhoods, or parking lots.
- School bus accidents: Civil claims against school districts or private bus companies for driver negligence, negligent supervision, or equipment failure. In 2024, Texas recorded 2,480 school bus crashes. This resulted in 11 fatalities and 93 serious injuries.
When a child is hurt or killed in a collision, you need skilled local car accident claims assistance. Our San Antonio lawyers fight on your child’s behalf and ensure the at-fault party provides a favorable settlement offer that covers all future needs.
Wrongful Death of a Child
Our attorneys handle cases involving the wrongful death of a child in San Antonio. In these devastating situations, we uphold the family’s legal rights while ensuring the at-fault party is held responsible to the fullest extent of Texas law. We know no amount of money compensates for the loss of a child, but we’re committed to using the legal process to protect others from experiencing the same loss.
We handle the following cases for child wrongful death in San Antonio:
- Fatal auto accidents: Motor vehicle crashes are the most common cause of child deaths in Texas.
- Accidental drowning: Texas ranks third in child drowning fatalities, with an average of 75 children dying annually
- Fatal child abuse and neglect: 581 fatalities were investigated by Texas DFPS
- Hot car death: Texas leads the nation in hot car deaths. If your child was under the supervision of another person, we can help ensure they’re held liable for the immense loss.
- Medical malpractice resulting in a child’s death: including surgical errors, misdiagnosis, and birth injuries
- Fatal drug or medication errors: including pediatric dosing mistakes and pharmacy errors
- Children’s deaths from unsecured firearms
- Fatalities from product defects
Child Injured At Daycare
Texas daycare centers are held to a strict duty of care standard. When a daycare center fails to maintain staff-to-child ratios or other safety standards, and a child is injured in an accident, parents can sue the daycare center for negligence. Most cases involve:
- Negligent supervision: The most common cases involve poor supervision at daycare centers. This results in falls from high areas, wandering off (elopement), or serious injuries sustained from other children. In cases involving gross negligence, this includes shaken baby syndrome and suffocation.
- Burns and thermal injuries: These often result from bottle warmers, hot liquids left in children’s reach, or poor supervision when children are playing outside, resulting in severe overheating.
- Poorly maintained playground equipment: This can lead to anything from fractures to traumatic brain injuries, depending on the type of equipment.
- Safety standard violations resulting in harm: Failure to screen employees, resulting in sexual abuse or inadequate care. Daycare centers also commonly ignore food allergies, which can lead to a child’s death in the most devastating accidents.
If a child is injured at a Bexar County daycare, YMCA facility, church program, or other childcare facility, a San Antonio child injury attorney can help ensure the daycare center is held legally responsible. We handle everything, allowing parents to focus on the child’s recovery.
ATV Accidents and Golf Cart Accidents
ATV accidents in San Antonio and across Texas are a uniquely high priority due to widespread use on private land. When catastrophic injuries result from an ATV crash or golf cart accident in San Antonio, our personal injury attorneys often pursue child injury cases involving the following:
- Negligent entrustment: Child injury claims against adults who allow minors to operate vehicles that are too large or powerful for their age.
- Manufacturer defects: Defective product lawsuits for ATV rollovers against product manufacturers for poor vehicle stability.
- Property owners and rental companies: Civil claims for failure to warn against hazards.
While less common, our experienced attorneys also help parents of injured children in the aftermath of scooter accidents y dirt bike accidents in San Antonio.
Child Accidents On Another Person’s Property
Premises liability claims in San Antonio focus on accidents that occur on private property or in public places. The most common causes of these accidents include:
- Drowning and near-drowning accidents: Drowning accidents are leading causes of childhood fatalities in Texas. Young kids are more vulnerable and at higher risk of brain injuries, lung damage, and other severe injuries.
- Waterpark and swimming pool accidents: These often involve unfenced or ungated pools that violate local ordinances and can result in claims against San Antonio hotel owners, apartment complexes, or other property owners.
- Slip and falls: Child injury cases involving slips and falls down stairs, on wet surfaces, or uneven flooring in retail stores, restaurants, and apartments.
- Public park and amusement park accidents: Common examples include Six Flags Fiesta Texas, SeaWorld, the San Antonio Zoo, the Botanical Garden, and Schlitterbahn Waterpark.
- Escalator entrapment injuries: El CPSC estimates ~2,000 escalator injuries per year involve kids under the age of 15.
- Trampoline injuries at parks or another person’s property: Hay ~108,297 trampoline-related ER visits annually in the U.S. ~34% involve commercial trampoline parks, with a significant number of ER visits involving fractures, neck injuries, and other severe injuries.
- Toxic substance exposure: Child injured from unsecured chemicals, lead paint, carbon monoxide poisoning, or pesticides in rental properties.
- Unsecured falling objects: CPSC reports that children’s tip-over injuries occur roughly every 53 minutes.
- Attractive nuisance claims: Attractive nuisance is a legal doctrine that refers to dangerous conditions on property. Unfenced pools, abandoned structures, and water features are common examples that can lure a naturally curious child. Property owners can be held liable even if the child was trespassing.
Dogs Biting Children
Situations in which dogs bite children warrant immediate action. When pets have a history of aggression or owners fail to take reasonable steps to ensure children’s safety around dogs, parents may sue under Texas dog-bite laws. A San Antonio child injury lawyer can help file a dog bite injury claim to secure compensation for your child’s emotional trauma, disfigurement, and any soft tissue injuries sustained from the dog bite.
School Injuries
Our San Antonio child injury lawyer team provides legal representation for both private school injuries and public school injuries. Claims against public school districts often involve government immunity and varying statute of limitations, depending on the area. We’ve helped many parents pursue compensation for the following:
- Playground equipment accidents: Playground accidents send ~218,000 kids under 14 to the ER annually. 45% of playground accidents result in severe or debilitating injuries, including concussions and head injuries, broken bones, organ damage, and even amputations. Playground falls account for ~80% of injuries and 90% of the most devastating accidents.
- Injuries from bullying, assaults, and fights: School injuries from negligent supervision, including when school staff fails to intervene in bullying concerns or during fights.
- Choking or allergic reaction incidents: School staff fail to follow a child’s allergy action plan.
- Heat strokes or other injuries during PE or recess: Nearly 20% of kids seeking emergency medical care for heat-related illnesses in Texas required hospitalization. ~24% were diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis, and this resulted in hospital admissions 63% of the time.
- School injuries from toxic exposure: This often includes mold, asbestos, or structural failures.
Accidentes en campamentos
El Camp Mystic catastrophe has shed light on the same safety concerns our San Antonio child injury lawyer group has been desperately trying to get out for years. However, child injury cases don’t stop there.
DSHS systematically ignores safety issues throughout the state, making youth camps the accident scene for many other serious accidents, such as:
- Summer camp drowning deaths: These often stem from inadequate supervision.
- Heatstroke and dehydration: Pediatric heatstroke cases account for ~9% of all outdoor recreational cases. 53% occur from June-August.
- Falls at camp: These can occur while climbing walls, zip-lining, doing ropes courses, or using bunk beds.
- Youth camp abuse: 28% of American Camp Association calls were related to abuse. A recent report shows 12 documented cases of alleged abuse at Texas youth camps.
Other child injury cases involving youth camp accidents in Bexar County incluir:
- ATV, watercraft, and horseback riding accidents
- Severe food-borne illnesses and allergic reactions
- Rifle and archery accidents
Children’s Sports Injuries
Here are the most common sports injuries in Texas by type:
- Football injuries: Football accounts for ~44% of all Texas high school sports injuries.
- Soccer injuries: Soccer has the highest rate of head trauma in female sports, with ~11% of players diagnosed with TBIs. For boys’ soccer injuries, a significant portion of head injuries occur during games, rather than in practice areas.
- Wrestling injuries: Wrestling has the highest surgery rate of any high school sport in Texas, many of which involve serious head trauma.
- Basketball injuries: Basketball has the highest number of total injuries in Texas due to massive participation.
- Cheerleading injuries: While cheerleading accidents are less common, the severity is much greater, often resulting in catastrophic injuries, like TBIs, paraplegia or quadriplegia, neck and skull fractures, or even splenic rupture or commotio cordis.
Common serious injuries resulting from youth sports accidents include:
- Traumatic brain injuries and concussions: 22% of Texas student athletes suffer a concussion annually. There were 6,300 reported concussions for Texas high school athletes last year. Despite these numbers, reporting is only required for 6A schools.
- Cardiac arrest during sports: En Texas, sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is the leading cause of death for student-athletes.
- Heat-related sports injuries: Texas pediatric ER visits for heat-related sports injuries increased by 170% in recent years.
- Sports accidents at school: Injuries from defective or improperly fitted gear.
- Fractures and tears from poorly maintained playing surfaces or fields
- Overuse injuries from coaches ignoring pitch count rules, return-to-play protocols, or rest requirements, or concussion protocols under “Natasha’s Law.”
Product Liability – Dangerous Children’s Products
El CPSC recalled 145 children’s products last year. This is double the number from a decade ago and accounts for a higher percentage of total recalls.
Our San Antonio child injury lawyer team helps determine legal options when a child is injured in an accident involving defective products. We conduct thorough investigations, protect clients’ legal rights, and build the strongest possible case to ensure negligent product manufacturers are held accountable.
Los más comunes Reclamaciones por responsabilidad del producto en San Antonio that we handle include:
- Defective car seats and booster seats: Here are active car seat recalls by brand: Graco, Britax, Evenflo, Chicco, Dorel (Safety 1st, Cosco, Maxi-Cosi).
- Choking hazards: Choking is the fourth leading cause of unintentional death in children under 5
- Toxic or contaminated products: The CPSIA sets strict lead limits, yet recalls for lead and other toxic substances cases continue.
- Appliance, TV, and furniture tip-overs: ~7,500 children are injured annually.
- Defective sleep products: ~3,500 children die annually from defective cribs, bassinets, and sleep products.
- Button battery ingestion: Hay ~3,500 button battery ingestion cases reported annually to poison control centers.
- Children injured in accidents involving recalled products sold on marketplaces
Pediatric Malpractice
Our personal injury lawyers often handle the following when an OBGYN, pediatrician, or other medical professional fails to prevent harm:
- Birth injuries: When delivery errors, failure to provide immediate medical attention, or other doctor negligence cause severe harm, our legal team pursues Reclamaciones por lesiones de nacimiento en San Antonio, with the most common types being cerebral palsy cases and infant death.
- Pediatric misdiagnosis: When doctors fail to exercise reasonable care in diagnosing serious illnesses or conditions, such as meningitis or appendicitis, this constitutes medical negligence.
Medical malpractice cases require more evidence and steps than personal injury cases. We thoroughly investigate pediatric malpractice claims in San Antonio, gathering evidence, such as medical records related to the harm, hiring the medical experts required to establish and prove medical negligence in Texas, and using decades of experience to negotiate with the insurance adjusters or sway juries if the case goes to trial.
Child Sexual Abuse and Intentional Harm to Children
When a person is sexually assaulted or intentionally hurt during vulnerable years, it’s important to take legal action both criminally and civilly by filing a sexual abuse claim in San Antonio. These aren’t minor harms. When a child suffers in this manner, it causes an emotional toll that most parents don’t fully realize until later. If you have concerns during this difficult time, our child injury attorneys are committed to securing compensation and justice.
Our experienced child injury lawyers in San Antonio can uphold victims’ legal rights in the following situations:
- Sexual abuse by a teacher, coach, or school employee
- Abuse at church programs
- Abuse at daycare centers
- Intentional harm by caregivers (shaken baby syndrome, broken bones, internal injuries, head injuries, or death from child abuse)
- Abuse in foster care placements
- Assault by another minor due to negligent supervision
- Failure to report known abuse by mandatory reporters (teachers, doctors, counselors)
What Injuries Merit a Personal Injury Lawsuit for Children in San Antonio
Pediatric Brain Injuries
Child brain injuries in San Antonio often arise from severe concussions resulting from negligent supervision. When a child suffers a brain injury, the personal injury claim must account for future medical care costs, including physical therapy and special education needs.
Broken Bones and Growth Plate Damage
Growth plate fractures lead to complex lawsuits because these serious injuries affect future development. Our San Antonio child injury attorney group hires the best medical experts to ensure future medical expenses are fully covered in settlement offers.
Pediatric Spinal Cord Injuries
Pediatric spinal cord damage is a debilitating injury that can lead to paralysis. Personal injury claims for spine injuries in San Antonio must cover chronic pain, home modifications, long-term medical treatment costs, and more. Here, the projected costs and impact on the child’s quality of life are crucial for determining full compensation.
Child Burn Injuries
Over 116,000 children are treated for non-fatal burns, and over 480 die each year. Children under 4 years old are especially vulnerable. These child injury claims often settle in the $500,000-$10 million range, depending on the severity of scarring and medical expenses.
Child Amputations
Most non-congenital child amputations in San Antonio are traumatic, often resulting from lawnmower accidents, vehicle accidents, or entrapment. Our child injury attorneys seek maximum financial compensation for your child’s recovery. Settlements range from $400,000-$8 million, depending on the limb loss severity.
Internal Organ Injuries in Children
Lesiones de órganos internos are the most common cause of unrecognized fatal injuries in children. Abdominal injuries present in ~25% of pediatric patients with major trauma. Our child injury lawyers in San Antonio have extensive experience handling claims involving
- liver damage
- spleen damage
- kidney damage
- pancrease damage
- intestines/bowel damage
How Our Personal Injury Attorneys Help Child Injury Accident Victims Throughout Bexar County
Nuestro San Antonio injury lawyers help by determining responsibility and building strong child injury claims. We negotiate with insurance companies to recover fair settlements. If we cannot recover compensation through negotiations, we’ll take the responsible parties and their insurance companies to court.
Our personal injury law firm’s success in litigation helps ensure the family receives the financial compensation they deserve for current and future costs.
Texas Statute of Limitations for Children’s Injury Claims
An injured child has until they turn 20 to file a personal injury lawsuit. However, if parents want to file a lawsuit on their child’s behalf, they have two years to pursue the personal injury claim.
We recommend contacting a personal injury lawyer immediately after your child is injured in an accident. A child injury lawyer in San Antonio can help preserve evidence that will be needed to build a strong case.
Contact a San Antonio Child Injury Attorney For a Free Consultation
If your child suffered severe injuries in an accident, or if you lost a child due to someone else’s negligence or actions, contact our experienced children’s injury lawyers in San Antonio, TX, for a free consultation by calling 210-366-4949 or filling out our formulario de contacto en línea.
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