If I took my son to the doctor after someone intentionally stepped on his wrist and its broken, can I sue the person for the injury and/or pain and suffering?

Get Legal Help Today

Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

If I took my son to the doctor after someone intentionally stepped on his wrist and its broken, can I sue the person for the injury and/or pain and suffering?

I used my insurance to cover the bill.

Asked on August 4, 2015 under Personal Injury, South Carolina

Answers:

S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 9 years ago | Contributor

Since someone intentionally stepped on your son's wrist and broke it, the perpetrator is liable for assault and battery.

Assault and battery are both civil and criminal.  The civil case (lawsuit) and the criminal case are separate and proceed independently.

As for the civil case, when your son completes his medical treatment and is released by the doctor or is declared by the doctor to be permanent and stationary, which means having reached a point in his medical treatment where no further improvement is anticipated, obtain your son's medical bills and medical reports.

Compensation for the medical bills is straight reimbursement.  The medical reports will document the nature and extent of your son's injury and will be used to determine compensation for pain and suffering, which is an amount in addition to the medical bills.  I assume that your son is a minor and does not have a wage loss claim.  If he does have a wage loss claim, compensation is straight reimbursement.  Since assault and battery are intentional acts, the perpetrator can be sued for punitive damages, a substantial amount to punish the intentional, wrongful, malicious act. .

If your son is a minor, you will need to be appointed guardian ad litem to file a lawsuit on his behalf because a minor cannot file a lawsuit himself.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

Get Legal Help Today

Find the right lawyer for your legal issue.

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption