Auto accidents can traumatize children.
18-wheeler Collides With School Bus, Sending 6 Children and the Driver to the Hospital
According to a KSAT News report, 6 middle-school students and one bus driver were hospitalized when an 18-wheeler ran a red light and collided with the bus.
Police reported the crash happened at around 3:30 p.m. yesterday at the intersection of Loop 1604 and Highway 90. 20 students from Scobee Middle School were on the bus at the time, according to Southwest ISD. 6 students were taken to the hospital along with the bus driver, and medical professionals evaluated the remaining students at the scene before releasing them to their parents. The bus driver and 5 students have since been released from the hospital, with one student remaining in stable condition.
Did You Know?
1 in 4 accidental injury deaths of children younger than 13 are caused by auto accidents.
Childhood Trauma and Auto Accidents in San Antonio
Millions of children experience traumatic events across the United States. Scary events like auto accidents, sports injuries, dog attacks, and drowning accidents can have a long-lasting effect on your child long after their injuries are healed. A child can merely witness another person experiencing one of these events to suffer trauma.
What is Child Traumatic Stress?
A traumatic event is one that threatens the life or physical integrity of a child or a close family member, as defined by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network.
Child Traumatic Stress is when a child is unable to cope with the traumatic event, causing biological or psychological responses. These responses can affect their ability to interact with others, as well as properly develop, and can cause severe childhood illnesses.
Learn more about how trauma can impact your child by age group in this article.
Can I Sue For My Child’s Trauma After an Auto Accident?
In order for a personal injury lawsuit to occur, a person must suffer injury. So, you cannot sue for pain and suffering or emotional distress independent of an injury. But, if you or your child was hurt in an auto accident, pain and suffering damages can be awarded for your child’s trauma resulting from the injury. Documentation from therapists is useful for determining the extent to which the trauma affected or will continue to impact your child’s life.
Can I Sue For My Child’s Trauma If I Am the One Who Was Injured?
Texas law allows for a witness to sue for emotional distress after witnessing a traumatic injury in two circumstances:
- The witness was in close enough proximity to the danger that they could have suffered harm themselves.
- The witness had a family relationship with the person they saw suffer injury.
Example: You are injured in an auto accident while your child is in the backseat. Your child is not injured but suffers traumatic stress after witnessing you being injured. You can include your child’s suffering in your injury claim in this case because the child was both related to you and in close enough proximity to have been injured themselves.
To find out what applies in your case, contact our child injury attorneys free of charge at 800-862-1260.
Hire Carabin Shaw Child Injury Attorneys
We have 30 years of experience representing injured children across San Antonio. If your child was hurt in an auto accident, while playing sports, in a dog attack, or at daycare, we can help. Contact the team who puts their clients first at 800-862-1260 to get your case evaluated by an attorney for free. We look forward to serving you.
Contacting an attorney does not bind you to work with the firm and is free of charge.
²National Child Traumatic Stress Network