Recovering Damages for an Injured Child After a Car Crash

 Posted on April 29, 2022 in Car Accidents

Seeing your child get hurt in a car accident can be a traumatic experience for a parent. You probably do everything you can to keep your child safe. Having another driver carelessly harm your child can feel like a real-life nightmare. After you have gotten your child to safety and had their injuries treated, you may start to wonder how you can hold the negligent driver accountable for what happened to your child. Since minors cannot file a lawsuit on their own behalf, you will need to act on their behalf. As a parent or guardian of a minor, you can pursue compensation for your injured child. An attorney can help you determine what the best next steps are.

What Damages Can a Minor Recover?

Calculating damages owed to a minor who has been injured in a car accident can be a little more complicated. Minors are not responsible for their own medical bills, and any income they earn technically belongs to their parents. This does not mean that recovery for these damages is impossible - rather, it must simply be sorted out who is owed what. Minors can recover most of the same damages that adults can, like:

• Pain and suffering - Children may not cope with pain, injuries, and medical procedures, as well as an adult, can. Fortunately, you can pursue damages on behalf of your child that will compensate them for their pain and suffering.
• Emotional trauma - Many children need counseling after going through the trauma of a car accident where they were injured. Your child may have troubling emotional symptoms like being afraid to ride in a vehicle, or being unable to stop thinking and talking about the car accident.
• Medical bills - While minors are not responsible for their own medical bills, these economic damages are recoverable by the parents, who are responsible for these bills.
• Lost future income - If the accident was severe enough that your child will have permanent disabilities that could impact their future earning potential as an adult, they can receive compensation for their lost future wages. However, calculating and proving the amount of lost future income for a child can be quite challenging. A skilled attorney will need to approximate the amount your child would have earned as an adult before and after the accident.

If the child reaches the age of majority before a parent or guardian files a claim on their behalf, the child then has a period of two years to file their own claim. However, at this point, certain expenses that the parents became responsible for often cannot be recovered. It is important to file a suit as soon as you are able.

Contact an El Paso County Car Accident Attorney

James Kennedy, P.L.L.C. is skilled at helping parents and children make full financial recoveries for injuries sustained during a car crash. Our experienced El Paso car accident lawyers will do everything in our power to make sure that you and your child receive everything you deserve. Call 915-544-5200 for a free consultation.

Source:

https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CP/htm/CP.16.htm