Car Accidents That Result in Injury To A Child

Our Houston car accident attorneys can help you ensure that your child's injuries are taken care of and fairly compensated for.

When a child is injured in a car accident in Houston, the laws apply in a somewhat different manner than they do in a car accident case involving an adult.

The primary difference lies in the methods in place to determine that the minor child receives a fair settlement.

Statute of Limitations

In most of the Houston vehicle injury cases, the standard two year statute of limitations applies, whereby the plaintiff will only have a period of two years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit against the defendant. In the case of a plaintiff who is a minor child, the statute of limitations is extended to a period of two years from their 18th birth day. For example, if the child is 2-years-old at the time of accident, they will effectively have about 18 years from the date of the accident to seek a civil action against the defendant. Should the child be 14 at the time of the accident, they would have about 6 years to file a suit. This is all done in the name of fairness for the minor child. In the event that the child’s parents never went through with a lawsuit, or if they let the ordinary statute expire for their portion of any damages, the child still has the option to pursue the case later in life.

Damages the Parents May be Entitled to

When a child has suffered an injury and the parents hire an attorney, they are effectively hiring the attorney to do what is in the best interest of the child. The attorney’s primary goal is to recover a fair amount of compensation for the child, to be made available to them when they are old enough to make their own decisions. However, the parents of the child will often incur their own damages that their attorney will fight to get them compensated for. Typically, these damages are limited to monetary type damages such as medical expenses. If you think about it, this makes perfect sense as the parent is financially responsible for the child’s medical expenses, but the child as an individual has their own set of damages as the victim.

Damages Available to a Child

The attorney will seek to recover fair compensation for the child’s damages. As the victim, the child is eligible to receive compensation for all of the conventional forms of damages such as pain and suffering, mental anguish, physical disfigurement, etc. Furthermore, when dealing with a severe injury to a child, Grossman Law Offices of Houston believes that the way the injury has impacted the child’s future ability to interact with other and earn a living must also be taken into consideration.
Many people attempt to look at a child injury case the same way as an injury case involving an adult. We see it as our job to ensure that before anyone ventures to determine what such a case is worth, that they first consider how these injuries will affect the child’s ability to live a normal and productive life throughout a full lifetime, rather than just considering the small snapshot of their immediate damages.

Ad Litem

In child injury cases, an ad litem is appointed by the court before any settlement or jury verdicts can be agreed upon. The ad litem is a non-biased representative of the court whose job it is to determining that any agreed upon moneys are, in fact, in the best interest of the child, and not simply the whim of the child’s parents or unscrupulous legal counsel. Once the determination is made that the any agreed upon moneys are fair and reasonable, the case may proceed. Upon the completion of the case, the court system will secure the child’s money in an account until they turn 18-years-old.