Jacksonville Child Injury Lawyer

Why a Child’s Injury Case Is Different

Insurance companies value a child’s injury the way they value an adult’s: medical bills to date, plus a number for pain. That misses most of what a child loses.

• Growth-plate fractures can stop a bone from growing evenly for years.

• A concussion at 9 can become reading and attention problems at 12.

• A burn or scar on a child is carried through school, sports and adolescence.

• Lost school time can mean an IEP, a repeated grade, or a changed future.

Pediatric specialists, not adult orthopedists, have to project those costs. Then the settlement has to be structured so the money is there at 18, 25 and 40. Plata Schott Law is led by Board-Certified Specialists in Juvenile Law, a credential earned by fewer than 1% of Florida attorneys. Our attorneys built their careers in juvenile court. We know how judges think about children, how guardianship works, and how to keep a child’s recovery from being spent before the child can use it.

Where Jacksonville Children Get Hurt

Each of these has its own page explaining the law, the evidence and the deadlines that apply:

• School and daycare injuries — supervision failures, playground equipment, fights, bus loading zones

• Drowning and pool injuries — residential pools, apartment pools, swim lessons, boats

• Child pedestrian and school-zone crashes — school zones, crosswalks, bus stops, parking lots

• Children injured in car crashes — car seats, booster seats, teen drivers, rideshares

• Sports and concussion injuries — return-to-play failures, coaching negligence, equipment

• Dog bites and animal attacks — Florida’s strict-liability dog bite law

• Trampoline parks, amusement parks and bounce houses — waivers, inspections, operator error

• Apartment, hotel and rental injuries — balconies, stairs, negligent security, unfenced pools

• Golf cart and e-bike injuries — Nocatee, Ponte Vedra, the Beaches

• Children with special needs — restraint, seclusion, elopement, missed supervision plans

• Abuse and neglect in schools, daycares and programs — civil claims alongside any criminal case

• Wrongful death of a child — the Florida Wrongful Death Act and who may recover

Who Can Be Held Responsible

Children rarely cause their own injuries in a legal sense. Florida courts hold young children to a lower standard of care, and a child under about six is generally treated as incapable of negligence. The question is almost always which adult or business failed:

• A driver who was speeding in a school zone or texting in a parking lot

• A school, daycare or camp that didn’t supervise, didn’t maintain equipment, or ignored a known bully

• A property owner — a landlord, hotel, HOA or homeowner — who left a pool unfenced or a balcony rail loose

• A business — a trampoline park, zoo, water park or restaurant — that cut corners on inspections or staffing

• A product maker whose car seat, crib, toy, stroller or e-bike failed

• A dog owner, who is strictly liable in Florida whether or not the dog had bitten before

• A government agency — a public school, city park or sheriff’s office — which can be sued, but only after a written notice process with its own deadline

Often more than one party shares fault. Finding every responsible party, and every insurance policy, is where a child’s case is won or lost.

Whose Claim Is It? The Child’s, With Reimbursement for Parents

A child’s injury case is the child’s claim. It covers what the child suffers: pain, scarring, disability, lost enjoyment of childhood, future medical care, and lost future earning capacity. The money belongs to the child, and the court protects it.

Parents are reimbursed, not paid. Within the child’s case, parents have the right to recover what they paid out of pocket because of the injury: medical bills, lost wages while caring for the child, mileage, lodging, tutoring and other expenses. Insurers like to settle for these reimbursable costs alone, because they are small and easy to add up. A settlement that stops there shortchanges the child.

When a parent has a claim of their own. In some situations a parent has an independent claim in addition to the child’s:

• The parent witnessed the injury or death and suffered emotional harm as a result. Florida recognizes a claim for negligent infliction of emotional distress for a close family member who sees the event, within limits set by the courts.

• The parent was also injured in the same crash or incident. The parent’s own injury claim runs alongside the child’s.

We evaluate every parent for these claims at the first consultation. Most families have one claim, the child’s; some have two or three, and the difference matters.

The Deadline: Two Years, With Narrow Exceptions

A child’s injury case in Florida generally must be filed within two years of the injury. The deadline does not wait for your child to grow up, and it does not pause because your child is a minor.

• Negligence claims (crashes, falls, supervision failures, dog bites, unsafe property): two years from the date of injury for injuries on or after March 24, 2023. Injuries before that date fall under the old four-year rule.

• Wrongful death of a child: two years from the date of death.

• Claims against a public school, city, county, sheriff’s office or state agency: before you can sue, written notice must be served on the agency and the Florida Department of Financial Services, and the agency gets time to respond. Under Florida Statute § 768.28, that notice must be served within three years of the injury (two years for a wrongful death), the agency has up to six months to respond before suit can be filed, and the agency’s payout is capped at $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident unless the Legislature passes a claims bill. Missing the notice ends the case no matter how strong it is.

• Medical malpractice (including birth injuries): two years from when the injury was or should have been discovered, with an outer limit of four years. For a child, that outer limit does not bar a claim filed on or before the child’s eighth birthday (§ 95.11(5)(c)). A pre-suit investigation and expert affidavit are required before filing.

• Product defects: two years, measured from the injury, with a separate repose period measured from when the product was first sold.

The exceptions are narrow. Florida’s tolling statute pauses a minor’s deadline only in unusual situations, for example when a child has no parent or guardian able to bring the claim, or when the responsible person has hidden their identity or left the state. Do not count on an exception. Count on two years.

Practically, the real deadline is much shorter. School surveillance video is overwritten in days. Daycare incident reports get “corrected.” Pool-gate photos are gone as soon as the gate is fixed. Witnesses who are children forget, and their parents stop returning calls. The best time to talk to a lawyer is the first week.

What a Child’s Case Can Recover

For the child:

• Pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life, through childhood and beyond

• Scarring and disfigurement

• Permanent impairment or disability

• Emergency care, hospital stays, surgery and follow-up treatment

• Physical, occupational and speech therapy, and mental-health treatment

• Future medical care, therapy and equipment into adulthood

• Lost future earning capacity

• Tutoring, special-education costs and school accommodations

Reimbursement to the parents for:

• Medical bills and co-pays paid out of pocket

• Lost wages while caring for the child

• Mileage, lodging and other out-of-pocket expenses related to the injury

And, where it applies, a parent’s own claim for emotional distress from witnessing the injury, or for the parent’s own injuries.

Long-Term Harm That Doesn’t Show Up Right Away

Children are resilient, and that works against them in an injury case. A child who is “back to normal” at three months may not be at three years. We don’t let a child’s case settle until pediatric specialists have told us what the future looks like:

• Brain injury: executive-function and attention problems often appear when school gets harder, not when the injury happens.

• Orthopedic injury: growth-plate damage can cause limb-length differences and arthritis years later.

• Burns and scars: need revisions as the child grows.

• Trauma: PTSD, sleep problems, fear of cars or water, school refusal.

• Education: an IEP or 504 plan is evidence of harm, and its cost is recoverable.

Settling early, before this picture is clear, is the most common mistake families make.

How a Child’s Settlement Is Protected

Florida does not let an insurance company simply hand a parent a check for a child’s injury over a certain amount.

• Court approval. Under Florida Statute § 744.387, a settlement of more than $15,000 net to the child requires a court order approving the terms and a guardianship of the child’s property, with annual accounting to the court. Parents may settle a claim of $15,000 or less on their own.

• Guardian ad litem. The court may appoint one to confirm the settlement is in the child’s interest.

• Structured settlements. Most of a child’s recovery is placed in an annuity that pays out at set ages, so the money is there for college, a first home, or lifelong care, and can be structured to preserve Medicaid or SSI eligibility.

• Liens. Medicaid, Florida KidCare, health insurers and hospitals may claim repayment from a child’s settlement. Negotiating those liens down is part of our job; a poorly handled lien can swallow a child’s recovery.

• Minor’s trust or special-needs trust. For children with permanent disabilities, a trust can protect benefits for life.

We handle the guardianship and approval process in-house. You don’t need a second lawyer.

What to Do in the First Week

1. Get the child seen by a pediatrician or ER, even for a “minor” head bump or a fall that seemed fine. Delayed care is the insurer’s first argument.

2. Write down what happened — who was supervising, who saw it, what was said.

3. Ask for the incident report from the school, daycare, business or park, and photograph the scene and the equipment before anything is fixed.

4. Don’t sign anything from an insurer, a school or a business, and don’t give a recorded statement.

5. Don’t post about it. Insurers read parents’ social media.

6. Call us. We send preservation letters for video and records within 24 hours of being hired.

Our Process

1. Free, confidential consultation with an attorney, in English or Spanish.

2. Investigation and preservation — video, records, licensing history, prior complaints, inspections.

3. Pediatric expert workup — we wait for maximum medical improvement, or a credible forecast of it, before valuing the case.

4. Demand and negotiation with every responsible insurer.

5. Suit and trial if the offer doesn’t reflect the child’s future. Both partners are trial lawyers.

6. Court approval, structure and liens, so the money reaches your child.

Talk to a Jacksonville Child Injury Lawyer Today

If your child has been seriously injured in Florida, don’t try to navigate this alone. Evidence disappears. Witnesses forget. Institutions protect themselves fast.

At Plata Schott Law, we act quickly, communicate clearly, and push hard for full accountability and compensation.

Call, text, or email us today for a free, confidential consultation with an attorney.

Frequently Asked Questions About Child Injury Claims in Florida

How long do I have to file a child injury case in Florida?

Two years from the injury for most negligence claims. The deadline does not pause because the injured person is a child. Claims against public schools and government agencies have an earlier written-notice requirement, and medical malpractice claims have their own pre-suit process. Narrow exceptions exist, but you should not rely on them.

Can my child’s case be filed after they turn 18?

Usually not. In most cases the deadline runs from the injury, not from the child’s 18th birthday. Talk to a lawyer now, even if you aren’t sure you want to pursue a case.

Do I need the court’s permission to settle my child’s case?

Yes, if the settlement is more than $15,000 net to the child (Florida Statute § 744.387). A judge reviews and approves the terms, and a guardianship of the child’s property is required with annual accounting. We handle this as part of the case.

What is a structured settlement, and why do children get them?

An annuity that pays the child’s recovery out at set ages instead of as one check at 18. It protects the money, provides predictable income, and can be designed to keep Medicaid or SSI eligibility.

My child was hurt at a public school. Can I sue the school district?

Yes, but Florida’s sovereign immunity law (§ 768.28) requires written notice to the district and the Florida Department of Financial Services within three years of the injury, gives the agency up to six months to respond, and caps what the district pays at $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident unless the Legislature passes a claims bill. Private schools follow ordinary negligence rules.

I signed a waiver at a camp, gym or trampoline park. Can I still sue?

Often, yes. Florida law limits a parent’s ability to sign away a child’s claims in advance, and waivers rarely cover gross negligence or a business’s failure to follow its own safety rules. Bring the waiver to the consultation.

My child was a passenger in our car during a crash. How is their claim different?

Your PIP covers the child’s first medical bills. The child’s bodily-injury claim is its own claim, valued on the child’s injuries, and any settlement over $15,000 net to the child goes through court approval. If you were hurt in the same crash, you have your own injury claim alongside your child’s, and if you watched your child be seriously hurt, you may have an emotional-distress claim as well. The at-fault driver’s insurer will try to settle everything as one check.

Who is at fault if my child ran into the street?

Florida holds young children to a lower standard of care, and very young children cannot be negligent at all. A driver in a school zone or residential street is expected to anticipate children. Fault is usually shared, and shared fault reduces, but does not eliminate, the recovery.

What does it cost to hire Plata Schott Law for a child injury case?

Nothing up front. We work on a contingency fee: no attorney’s fee unless we recover compensation for you. Costs and expenses may apply. The consultation is free.

Do you work with Spanish-speaking families?

Yes. Attorney Belkis Plata’s first language is Spanish, and Spanish-speaking families work with her directly. Our Spanish page is at /lesiones-a-ninos.

Reviewed by Belkis Plata and Shannon Schott, attorneys Board Certified in Juvenile Law by The Florida Bar. Last updated October 2026.