What Damages Can A Parent Recover in a Personal Injury Case for a Minor Child?
My son was bit by a neighbor's dog. What rights do I have in a lawsuit against the dog owner?
You have the right to recover medical expenses that you paid or were paid by your insurance company. (You almost certainly have to repay your health insurance company out of the settlement or judgment.) You can also recover damages for loss of services of your child.
Under Tennessee law, you cannot recover damages loss of the relationship between you and your child because of the injuries or for your emotional distress at seeing your child deal with his injuries.
However, you may be able to recover damages for emotional distress if you saw or heard the dog attack your son or came up on the scene of the event shortly after the dog attack occurred. An experienced personal injury lawyer can tell you whether you qualify for recovery of this type of damages - they are dependent of the details of your case and your emotional injuries, if any.
