Legal Question in Personal Injury in California

Re: help please

You must establish causation, you will want to speak with your ob/gyn about the possiblity of the cleft pallete being in any way related to this horrible incident. I understand that the cleft pallette is a very common condition. There are groups of doctors organized to provide free services all over the country to children with this medical concern.

I think what happened to you and your wife is awful. Going after a thug for money damages may cost a lot of money just to find out they do not have money to pay the judgment, if you get one. You want to check and see if they have any assets before you take civil action against them.

Talk to the D.A. that handled the case against the one offender who was jailed and see if they are planning to prosecute the other two, only the district attorney can criminally bring charges.

best wishes to each of you.

Re: help please

You have excellent advice to follow already;

Re: help please

Ms. Shefman is too kind. You will never be able to prove causation in this case. Mommy falling down does not cause cleft palate. I don't need a medical degree to tell you that.

Re: help please

I believe if you talk to a doctor he or she will tell you that your child's cleft lip was not the result of falling to the ground. That being said, if people beat you up and your wife witnessed this and fainted you have a cause of action for assault and battery and your wife for intentional infliction of emotional distress. You can sue for money damages. But, if your defenders don't have any substantial assets you won't get an attorney willing to take the case on a contingency basis. In that case you are best off suing, with your wife as co-plaintiff, each of these guys in small claims court. You will be able to get a money judgment up to the limit in small claims. Then, you can have the Sheriff try to collect. The Sheriff can attach any assets or bank accounts you can find, or garnish wages if they are employed.

You say nothing about the circumstances, like the location, time of day, etc. Perhaps there is a "deep pocket" that is also responsible for negligently creating a condition that facilitated the assault. It's a long shot but worth talking briefly to an attorney about.