As parents, you want what is best for your children. It is your job to protect them and to ensure that they receive the proper care that they deserve. What happens when someone else harms your child? Children can be involved in accidents too. They may suffer injuries due to negligence in multiple ways. If your child suffered an injury and has outstanding medical costs, he or she does have a right to compensation.
When it comes to legal matters, minors have different rules. You may already know that children cannot file lawsuits on their own. As a parent, you can file a lawsuit on behalf of your child. Here is what you need to know about minors and personal injury claims.
Minors Can Collect Compensation
If a minor child is injured in a negligent act with substantial injuries and medical costs, then the child is entitled to receive compensation for said injuries and medical costs. However, a child cannot file a lawsuit until he or she is 18 years old. Now, in some cases, a child may wait until he or she turns 18 to file a lawsuit. In other instances, however, the parents of the child may choose to file the lawsuit on his or her behalf.
The parent or guardian is described as Next Friend. This means that he or she is involved in the legal process, but he or she is not the party involved with the lawsuit. The parent or guardian is not entitled to any of the compensation that is awarded to the child on behalf of the injury.
Minors May Need Conservatorship
In most states, if a minor may win more than 10,000 dollars for his or her injuries, then he or she will need a conservatorship. The conservator is someone who can act on the behalf of the child during the case. The court tends to appoint family members or friends to act as conservator when it comes to personal injury cases.If you have a child who was injured due to someone else’s negligence, you do have options available to you. It is important that you talk with a lawyer, however, because the law regarding minors is complex. Given that personal injury law can be complicated on top of that, you need to be careful during the whole process to ensure that your lawsuit is valid. To file a claim on behalf of a minor, consult with a personal injury attorney like from Torrance Car Accident Lawyers today.