The school year is well underway for Cranberry Township students, and many children are thinking ahead to their coming winter breaks. Though they will have to get through assignments and quizzes, reports and tests before they can enjoy some well-deserved time off from their classes, most are likely enjoying relatively untroubled academic experiences.
However, a disastrous situation recently occurred for one young student just about 30 miles away in the community of Clairton. A young girl was walking to school when she was struck by a motor vehicle. The 7-year-old victim was taken to a hospital in Pittsburgh for treatment and sustained head injuries in her ordeal.
The driver of the vehicle that struck the child has not been found, and law enforcement officials are searching for the party responsible for the child’s serious injuries. That individual could face criminal charges as a result of their conduct; the child victim and her representatives may choose to pursue a civil lawsuit against that party as well in order to recover the youth’s damages.
Though child victims may not lose income opportunities or suffer all of the same losses that adults do when they are harmed in vehicle accidents, youths and their families can sustain significant damages when kids are hurt. The costs of caring for the child and providing her with medical treatment are a result of her hit-and-run accident injuries; those and other losses may be compensable through a personal injury trial.
A child’s life has been forever altered by the irresponsible and negligent acts of a hit-and-run driver. When that individual is found he or she will have serious consequences to face. Civil claims may provide the victim with the financial support that she needs to recover from her devastating ordeal.
Source: wpxi.com, “Girl in ICU after hit-and-run while walking to school in Clairton,” Nov. 4, 2016