Partner
Mark J. Miller
Read about Mark’s legal background, trial experience, and work representing injured people.
Meet Mark →Your child needs care. You need answers.
Broward County Child Injury Lawyers
An injured child needs care, reassurance, and adults who can find out what happened. If your family is facing that situation in Broward County, we can review the incident, the people responsible, and the steps needed to protect a possible claim while recovery continues.
Free consultation. No attorney fee unless we recover compensation.
50+ years
Combined legal experience
230+ trials
Combined trial experience
South Florida
Served from Pompano Beach
Free consultation
A conversation about your child
You do not need every answer yet
Put the first account beside the records that can test it.
A school, childcare provider, property manager, or activity business may each hold a different part of the account. Tell us what you were told and what remains unclear. You do not need to reconcile every explanation before asking for help.
Get medical attention first and keep the care instructions. Save the documents, messages, and photos already available. Record the dates and locations involved. The child’s health should not wait for the legal investigation.
Our Broward County personal injury team can review the circumstances without expecting you to arrive with a legal theory.
The part a report cannot show
The paperwork describes an event. You are living with its effects.
Your child’s pain, missed activities, or worries about going back may not appear on the initial form. Explain those changes in ordinary words. A careful claim review considers recovery over time as well as what happened that day.
Looking beyond the word “accident”
Different settings create different responsibilities.
Across Broward County, a claim may involve a public school, private daycare, community pool, driver, or product supplier. We assess the duty that applied and whether a failure caused the injury. The place alone does not establish fault.
Care and supervision
School, daycare, or camp
A review may look at staff assignments, incident reports, safety rules, and what adults knew before the injury. Public school claims can involve special notice and immunity rules under Florida law. A report to the school is not necessarily the required legal notice.
Property and activities
Pools, hotels, and attractions
At a shared pool, park, hotel, or activity venue, ownership and operations may be divided between entities. We investigate maintenance, access, supervision, and response based on the event. Government property can introduce special notice and immunity issues.
Traffic and transport
A ride, a crossing, or a parking lot
An injury involving a vehicle may turn on driver conduct, available video, witnesses, and the child’s role as a passenger, pedestrian, or cyclist. Keep the exact city and location, since records may be held by different agencies or businesses.
Other causes to investigate
A dangerous product or an animal
Injuries from dog bites or defective toys or products involve their own rules. Keep the owner’s information, product details, and photos when safe. Do not test, repair, or keep using a suspect product to find out what failed.
If the concern is an injury caused by treatment, our Broward County medical malpractice guidance explains a different review process.
A first conversation
Your family can start with the concern that needs attention now.
Tell our Pompano Beach team where in Broward County the injury happened and what your child needs next. We can discuss the legal review without expecting a complete file.
Families here and families visiting
A child’s claim may involve records from several Broward cities.
The incident may be in one city, emergency treatment in another, and rehabilitation near home. Identify each location and the people involved. That helps connect the account, the medical care, and the organizations holding relevant records.
If your family lives nearby
For a local school, daycare, or activity, save attendance information, parent messages, restrictions, and the details of the supervising adults. Let us know whether the institution is public or private and what documents you have been given.
Useful records: school attendance, treatment notes, activity restrictions, and the names of people who saw what happened.
If you have already returned home
For visiting families, keep the Broward booking or activity agreement and local treatment records. Tell us where follow-up care is continuing and who still has the equipment or belongings involved. We can assess the forum and record requests from that information.
Useful records: booking confirmations, staff messages, discharge papers, and follow-up care records from your home state.
MILLER & JACOBS • POMPANO BEACH OFFICE
1600 S. Federal Highway, Suite 1101 · Pompano Beach, FL 33062
From the first account to a supported claim
Responsibility and recovery both need supporting evidence.
The investigation should show how the event occurred, who had a legal duty, and how the injury affected the child. We examine those questions without relying on an institution’s brief description as the final answer.
1
Find the records behind the account
We identify the relevant agencies, providers, witnesses, and records across the county. Early requests may be needed for video or other material with a limited retention period.
2
Work out who had responsibility
We examine the people and businesses involved, the duty each may have owed, and the connection to the injury. Medical or other qualified experts may be needed to test that explanation.
3
Account for what your child needs
We review the child’s treatment and supported future needs, then assess any offer and required safeguards. Settlement authority, court approval, guardianship, and protection of funds can each require separate attention.
Do not assume the clock waits until age 18.
Florida generally gives two years for negligence actions under section 95.11. The dates, type of claim, and defendant must be checked. Product, medical, and government claims can follow different rules.
Being a minor does not automatically pause that deadline. Section 95.051 allows limited exceptions involving the absence, incapacity, or conflicting interests of a parent or guardian. Have the actual timeline reviewed promptly.
Seeing the effect over time
A child’s changing needs deserve more than the first-day picture.
A claim may address more than the first medical bill. The losses must be tied to the injury and supported by the facts. We look at the care your child needs and the changes you see along the way.
Treatment and practical support
Medical care, therapy, equipment, and supported future care costs may matter. Keep the treatment plan and ask the treating team about the follow-up your child needs.
School, play, and daily comfort
Pain, emotional harm, and limits on normal activities can be part of the review. Brief notes about missed classes, sleep, or activities may help show changes that a bill cannot explain.
Needs that reach beyond today
For a lasting injury, qualified medical and other experts may assess future treatment and effects on independence or earning ability. Those needs should be supported, rather than guessed.
Keep records of a parent’s missed work and added expenses too. Whether those losses are recoverable, and who may claim them, requires a separate review.
Before a release is signed
A child’s settlement needs its own safeguards.
A parent’s agreement with an insurer may be only part of the process. Florida law protects the child’s interests when a claim is resolved and the money is handled.
The offer and the amount your child receives are different.
The gross settlement is the total offer. The net settlement is what remains for the child after applicable fees, costs, and other deductions. Different safeguards use different amounts.
The proposed payment plan matters too. The money belongs to the child. It is not automatically available for a parent’s ordinary expenses.
Read Florida’s rules for natural guardians, settling a minor’s claim, and independent settlement review.
Court approval after a lawsuit begins
Once an action has begun on the child’s behalf, a settlement is not effective without the court’s approval. Smaller settlements should not be assumed to escape that rule.
Protecting the child’s funds
A net recovery above $15,000 generally calls for a property guardianship. Court-approved payment arrangements can affect the process. We review the plan and the court’s requirements before funds are distributed.
An independent check of the settlement
A guardian ad litem protects the child’s interests during review. Florida generally requires one when the gross settlement equals or exceeds $50,000, with a statutory exception for an existing guardian who has no potential adverse interest.
Meet Miller & Jacobs
The partners behind the firm
Mark Miller and Rick Jacobs bring decades of combined legal and trial experience to the firm’s work for injured people and their families.
Partner
Rick S. Jacobs
Read about Rick’s legal background, trial experience, and approach to representing clients.
Meet Rick →Questions parents bring to us
You are allowed to ask before deciding what to do.
Bring the report, the offer, or the form you were asked to sign. A review starts with your family’s facts and the decisions in front of you.
The school called it an accident. Can I still ask for a review?
Yes. That description does not decide whether someone failed to take reasonable care. A review looks at what happened, supervision, known hazards, and the link to the injury. Some accidents happen despite reasonable care, so the evidence matters.
I signed an activity waiver. Does that end the claim?
Not automatically. Florida permits certain parental waivers of risks inherent in commercial activities, subject to specific requirements. The wording, provider, activity, and cause of the injury all matter. Keep the entire form and have it reviewed.
The insurer offered to pay the bills. Should I sign?
Have the offer and release reviewed first. A release may resolve more than the bills you have today. Your child’s prognosis, supported future needs, and any required court approval should be considered before a claim is closed.
Can we wait until our child turns 18?
Do not assume that is safe. A child’s age does not automatically stop Florida’s filing clock. The claim type, dates, defendant, and limited exceptions need prompt review, even while treatment is continuing.
Our child was hurt on vacation. Can we call from home?
Yes. Tell us where the injury happened, where you live, and where treatment is continuing. We can assess the proper forum and how records and evidence may be obtained. Calling does not require another trip to Broward County.
What if the parents share custody or disagree?
Who may act for the child depends on parental responsibility, legal authority, and any conflict of interest. Bring relevant custody or guardianship orders. The child’s interests must be protected when a claim is filed or a settlement is considered.
What does it cost to talk with Miller & Jacobs?
The consultation is free. For injury cases we accept, there is no attorney fee unless we recover compensation. The representation agreement explains the fee and how case costs are handled.
Related Broward County guidance
Follow the issue that fits what happened.
Different causes can involve different duties, insurance, and procedures. These pages explain the surrounding issues.