My son recently turned 18 and is a senior at a very large public high school in Texas.
He was assaulted at school late last week. Another student walked up behind him, tapped him on the shoulder and when he turned around hit him squarely in the eye. He never knew he was in danger and never saw it coming. The student hit him and ran. He was with friends and one of his friends chased after the guy but did not catch him. There were teachers and many students in the hall that witnessed it.
The students didn’t know the young man’s name but he was identified by one of the other students that witnessed by looking in the school yearbook. He was arrested and has been removed from school.
The principal said that the boy would be charged with assault with bodily injury and our son and his friends and the other students who were listed as witnesses on the report at school would be called to tell the judge what happened if the young man pleads not guilty.
According the principal, this incident is unusual in that typically both students are “in trouble” at school because there was a “fight” or “words” or whatever. It is considered an unprovoked random act of violence. Our son is not in trouble at school. However, the principal said something, just barely and in passing, that made me think he thought we should have an attorney.
We don’t.
What kind of attorney might we need? We don’t really have a friend that is an attorney to ask and we’re not the sort of folks who ever used one before.
I get that we might have a civil case to get reimbursed for the medical expenses for the doctor and the 3 eye specialist visits so far. But do we need an attorney, just because he was attacked and may have to testify at a trial? How does one chose an attorney if you aren’t socially connected to one?
I’m hesitant to provide too much detail. I hope that is enough to get a discussion going. Please make any suggestion you feel we might need and I can certainly answer questions if I haven’t given the right details. We are in uncharted waters here and would appreciate the advise of anyone with experience in this sort of thing.
First, if you have a doubt and if the affair is something that you can’t afford to have screwed up, go to a pro.
Next, everything else:
What did the principle say?
Some attnys offer free consultation. That may be the way to go. Get a handful of free consultations.
Depending on the state law and the amount of the medical bills you might be able to handle the civil suit in small claims.
Some states allow for one to be compensated for “reasonable atorney fees” in addition to other damages etc.
It all depends.
Everything comes down to how important is the affair to your lives? If things go wrong, how screwed will you be? If it’s a matter of vital interests go to the pros.
As far as choosing an attny, I’d say that you should follow the same sorts of advice for purchasing any other service- shop around. Talk to the people. Look for someone who’s focused on your case and its merits ratherthan on getting your business. If you get a “funny feeling” about the person you’re talking to go down the road. There’re plenty of attnys in the world. There’s bound to be one who’s both competent and pleasant to be around.
I’ve only known two lawyers personally. Despite the bad rap that lawyers get both of these fellows are actually exemplary characters. Not just regular guys, but actually top-notch people of impeccable ethics. So, I know they’re out there.
Abby, over in Australia we have what’re known as Community Legal Centres - places that, while understaffed and underresourced, provide free legal advice and casework for simple cases. I work for one of them. They’re free to anyone who wishes to use them. If they couldn’t help you (eg with a big civil case), they could give some simple advice and refer you to someone who could.
I don’t know if there’s an equivalent agency over where you are. I know there are agencys specialising in certain types of case / client eg the Southern Poverty Law Centre, the Louisiana Crisis Assistance Centre. Do the Americans out there know if there is such a thing in Abby’s area? It’d be a terrific free option.
You may want to call your insurance agent. Why? Because: a) he’s free and b) if you sue this other kid, you’ll probably sue under the liability clause in his parent’s homeowners’ insurance.
Since your in the US, I recommend that you call your local bar and see if they have a referal service. Frequently they’ll have one, and they exist for exactly this kind of thing: hooking you up with an attorney whose practice meshes with what you need. Typically they refer you to a local attorney (or several) and you can arrange a half-hour consult for a pittance (compared to typical attorney fees).
Here’s the referal service for the Dallas Bar. Just google around for your city/metroplex/county’s bar association.
Thanks everyone. I will call our insurance agent and see if there is a local referral service. We are near Houston.
The officer that took Aaron and the other kids statements and arrested the young man called this morning. He said it was a class A assault with bodily injury. He said it is an “open and shut case” and he thinks the young man will plead guilty. He said we should get an attorney and file a civil suit to recover the medical expenses and said we have to see a judge if we want to get a protection order.
Slightly OT, but I hope he’s OK. And if his attacker pleads guilty, it might be nice for you to find out just why he decided to do it. Attacking random people isn’t normal behavior…
Jesus, that used to happen to me at least once a month. But that was in the Bad Old Days, when the teachers said, “oh, they’re just being kids!” and there was no recourse I could take.
I know that there are a couple of Doper lawyers in Texas, one I think is in Dallas the other I’m not certain. Maybe they could refer someone if this is not the type of case that they’d normally handle?
I was very confused by the OP. I’m not sure why you would need a lawyer. If your son is a witness there is absolutely no need to waste your money on a lawyer. If you are going to go to small claims court and suing the assailant then probably not. If you are suing for more money then yes you need one. If you are afraid of being sued then I would wait until there is a suit. I am curious what the principal said too.
You may want to hire an attorney, just in case. The son of some family friends of ours got jumped by two guys at his high school, for his baseball cap :rolleyes:. They crushed his hand and he had to have metal pins put into it. Because the parents of the kids who did it were unable (for whatever reason, I can’t remember) to pay medical bills, they ended up having to sue the school district in order to pay the hospital bills. You never know what could happen. Just because its an open and shut case doesn’t mean this kid’s family has the money to pay for what he did. YMMV.
He is getting better everyday. He missed the regional championship tournament for his sport last week because of the eye injury. The attack took place just a couple of hours before the first game of the tournament. The eye visit on Monday released him back to play this week in the state championship tournament. He’s really disappointed because while he is still on the team, he got bumped down from his usual, not a starter, but middle of the pack to the 15th position because of the injury and he didn’t play last week. 15 is an alternate and doesn’t usually get to play. As a Mom, I can say that it’s a rough sport, the coach is likely worried he’ll get hit accidentally and re-injure the eye, so I understand the decision and also that it is best for the team. I can also understand my son’s disappointment and frustration as it is his senior year and the state championship tournament.
This morning the officer said that the attacker claims he was offended that my son(and his friends) walked through his group of friends on his way to class. They did have to go through a crowd that was blocking the hallway. However, there are witnesses who say he said excuse me as he passed, that he didn’t bump anyone and that someone issued “a challenge” and our son’s reply was that he wasn’t looking for trouble or a fight he just wanted to go to class. He wasn’t hit until several minutes later much further down the hallway. The attacker claims our son threw up his hands as he turned around. Everyone else claims our son had his back pack in one hand and a computer book in his other hand and was walking and talking with friends when he was tapped on the shoulder from behind and hit as he turned around before he even knew he was in danger of being hit. The officer said it was all bluster and b.s. from the boy to get out of trouble with his parents. He told his parents that it was disrespectful of our son to walk through his group of friends to pass down the crowded and blocked hallway.
I filled out the referral form and it gave me a voucher and a name.
I will try to be more clear if you can say what was confusing. What confused you?
Our son was the person assaulted. There were several witness including his two best buddies, at least one teacher, and a girl that he didn’t know prior to the attack, but has become friends with since she helped him to the nurses office and identified the person that hit him.
The principal was the first person to mention an attorney to me. I didn’t get why I needed an attorney, since it was my son that was attacked. Later he clarified that he was talking about civil charges to recover the medical expenses. The police officer mentioned civil charges this morning also. vunderbob explained that the prosecutor is the attorney in the assault.
I’m not sure why I should be afraid of being sued. Should I be concerned. My son was the one that was attacked. Does the “victim” usually have to worry about being sued?
You didn’t say what the principle said. You didn’t say if you were talking about civil or criminal law. You didn’t say if you were afraid of being the defendant or if you wanted to be the plaintiff.
If this case is a clear cut as you say I wouldn’t be too worried about it. However, if you sue you may get counter-sued as a tactic to bring you to the bargaining table. How much money would you be asking for in damages? If it is small enough to be heard in small claims court you probably won’t need a lawyer. If it is a bigger amount most personal injury lawyers offer free initial consultations and work on a contingency basis.
Because he was vague and said it in passing as he was giving me a lot of other information. I didn’t know what he was talking about until the second time we talked (which was after I posted the op yesterday evening) when he came right out and said other parents in our situation hired civil attorneys to recover medical expenses.
When I said it was “open and shut” it was a direct quote from the police officer. Not a judgement call on my part. I have no idea with regard to what makes a case clear cut or much money to ask for in damages. (That’s kind of why I posted, to get comments and suggestions about what I need to be thinking about and be aware of from others who have had similar experiences.) We are insured so all we are out so far is my day off work to take him to the follow-up eye appointment on Friday, and the co-pay for the doctor appointment, 3 eye specialist visits, and a prescription. There is at least two more eye appointments as the injured pupil is still wide open and his vision and motion range are not back to normal yet. Right now, the specialists think it will heal to normal eventually though.
How much money seems reasonable? Just the money we are out for the medical expenses? I don’t get paid if I don’t go in to the office, so do I ask to recover my pay, since he couldn’t drive? Does it matter that his missed regionals and won’t be allowed to play in the state tournament because of the injury? Does it matter that he missed two days of school and so won’t be allowed to exempt final exams. (If you are making A’s and haven’t missed any school you don’t have to take the final and get to stay home from school on finals day. I don’t quite get it, because if you are making an A then the final shouldn’t be that hard to do well on anyway, but for him this is an issue that kept him upset all day while he was out on Friday and he mentioned it again on Monday to the eye specialist.) Does it matter that he shook violently and vomited repeatedly for about five hours after the attack?
Other than the obvious follow -up medical care, what other things should I be considering and thinking about?
and b) if you sue this other kid, you’ll probably sue under the liability clause in his parent’s homeowners’ insurance.