loveofmy says:

Hmmm.
This is a tricky one because you are asking what should happen to a relative of yours. I gather that you are one of her parents and that she was and still is a minor in the eyes of the law but what I am thinking is that your cousin, the mother, is charged in a family court with domestic abuse & assault and battery to a minor. that can and often is prosecuted by the district attorney based on the testimony of the police officer and any witnesses to the event. The child is not necessary and quite often not used because the court does not want to pit a child against his/her guardian.
Meanwhile you want to sue for damages incurred when you say that all the damages to date have been paid for by insurance. Did you have to pay anything to get to your daughter and bring her home, moneys in addition to what it would have cost if she had not been injured in the states? If you did then you have a loss. If you have a loss then you can file a suit and add to that suit claims for pain and suffering, loss of future wages, et al. Basically what i am saying is you need to show compensatory damages before you can argue punitive damages. Such a case should be filed as soon as possible and if you can afford a solicitor then find one who understnds petitioning for fastracking a criminal case to try and speed up the case in family court so that you can use the verdict and all testimony given in the proceedings as evidence in the civil matter. Once you have a ruling in the criminal matter the likelihood that the defendent will settle out of court before a verdict is necessary in the civil matter becomes high.
As for how long your cousin can delay the matter in the criminal/family court that could take up to 2 years with delays and continuances. The defendent is entitled to a speedy trial but the courts are not required to push reluctant defendants to trial. That is why you want this fast tracked. If you can get the district attorney on your side they will push the judge to speed up the trial as well, especially if you ofer to come back with the girl to testify if necessary. Do not let your cousin plea bargain her way to a no contest. You want her to have to admit to her guilt.
So, get your solicitor and file your lawsuit and good luck.

ac says:

Wow, you really need to speak to a lawyer since there are so many aspects of this case! Obviously, there is no way that she will get away with what she did, NO JUDGE here would allow that!!! Your neice will indefinitely have full support and sympathy from the judge. You REALLY REALLY need to just speak to a lawyer here or an advocate, just so they can point you in the right direction since they would know better than anyone else.
I would suggest first looking up the US STATE in which this happened, as some certain laws vary from state to state, but go to the STATE’S government website, or even better, the CITY government website where this all took place. On the CITY’S website, Legal Aid, Lawyers, Courts, and all kinds of their local information will be available to help you find the people to contact and get the questions you need answered. I’m sure that they will be more than willing to help you get through this whole ordeal.
If you need additional help navigating your way through this process or finding contacts, ANYTHING please do not hesitate to contact me. I’d be more than happy to get you any info you need.

Big Lance! says:

hello! im an irsh dude myself and a an ex police officer etc. this case and the information about your daughter and the cousins mother is absolutely insane! as far as court dates and how long it will take? well if your suing her or the property owner, it could take up to 2yrs for a civil matter. but the laws differ in each state. so im sure you know the state where this occurred, i would contact the county or the city in which she lived in and ask for the prosecutors office. the prosecutor can give the exact details on her criminal case. but obviously your first concern is the criminal case, and if your daughter should be their etc. well in a criminal case such as an assault, im assuming this is felony due to the nature of your daughters injuries etc. if its not a felony i would be very upset and ask the prosecutor to push this to the fullest extent of the law! like you said, i dont think that your daughter will have to be there for court as you have 3 witnesses all corroborating what has taken place, but i would also think that the lady will also assume that if the victim is not present, and she takes it to trial, that your daughter, the victim may not be willing to go to court due to distance etc and she may make this work to her advantage. the victim should be present to prosecute someone for such a terrible crime. again, i would contact the county/city prosecutors office regarding any questions as he will be acting on your behalf. you can voice your concerns to he or she such as distance/irleland, the stress on your daughter etc. the prosecutor can work the case in the direction that you ie. the vicitm ie, you, wish to proceed with, voice your concerns to he or she! hopefully if shes smart, she will plead guilty! this is a terrible tragedy!!! the case will not last most likely more than 3 to 4 months as the criminal cases have to proceed faster than civil courts.
most importantly, YES! YES SHE CAN SUE!! she should sue for millions of american dollars!! she can sue the owner of the home whom most likely has HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE! any injuries that occur on that property makes the homeowner liable, even though the cousins crazy mother did this, it still make the property owner liable! i ll tell you why!!! the owner of the home im sure knew just like everyone else that the woman has had a history of violence! everyone knew that she had been in jail and has a history of assaults!!! so, therefore the homeowner and the homeowners insurance will pay it! your daughters settlement should be in the millions! i ll tell ya why! she is going to suffer psychologically, mentally, possibly have depression problems her whole life from the loss of site. she can sue for pain and suffering, the pain is beyond measurement!! mentally and physically shes suffering and will continue too! she can sue for loss of future income! imagine all of the years of work and all of the potential income or money that she could of earned working or in a profession when shes grown up but cant due to possibly being disabled due to her vision! i know a majority of jobs require 20/20 vision, so shes never going to be a pilot, a police officer, a doctor, the list is endless! she may never be able to hold many professional licenses as her vision is hurt so badly. oh this woman should be beaten in jail everyday!! to find out what you can sue for, i would contact the county/city where this occurred and talk to the folks in the courthouse/civil section. each state differs on what you can sue for, and how long the case lasts before a decision is made. the good thing is that typically the homeowners insurance when dealing with a child injury etc, they will try to settle this quickly! the longest is 2yrs of waiting on a civil case for suit! get the homeowner insurance information, the lawyer can begin sending out notices for them to be deposed etc. a lawyer in the state/city where this occurred can take the case for free! he can decide to take the case on a contingency basis as he can litigate the case and typically the lawyers will when settled take 33 percent of the settlement. you can recover for medical bills, you have to take into account the long term medical bills, the long term psycholoigical harm thats occurred, medical costs associated with this. you can sue for her future lost earnigs like i said, she may be on disability and not able to work a job that she normally would have possibly limiting her success. also you can research all of the laws for civil courts/law suits and criminal laws by googling the state laws for that state, knowledge is key!
you should find a reputable attorney licensed to practice law in the state where this occurred. you can have him mail you a power of attorney form, and you fill it out and mail it back. the power of attorney form allows the lawyer the ability to make all legal decisions and execute any legal paperwork that must be done in a timely manner as you cant possibly travel back and forth from irleand