My child was hurt. Who brings the claim, and how long is there?

A minor is a person under 18.

When a minor is a party to a case, the minor appears by a guardian of the estate or by a guardian ad litem appointed by the court where the case is pending.

When the minor is the plaintiff, the guardian ad litem must be appointed before the summons is issued. A minor who is 14 or older applies to the court. For a younger child, a relative or friend applies.

Before the court appoints a guardian ad litem, that person must tell the court and all parties about any known conflict of interest and any family or affiliate relationship with a party.

The age of majority is 18.

A minor who has no legal guardian may sue and be represented by a “next friend”. The next friend has the same rights concerning the suit as a guardian has.

A parent has the right to represent the child in legal action. That right is subject to a court order that affects it.

The court must appoint a guardian ad litem for a child represented by a next friend only if the next friend appears to the court to have an interest adverse to the child, or if the parties agree. A guardian ad litem appointed under this rule acts as an officer and advisor to the court.

A person is of full age at 18, except where the law specifically provides otherwise.

When a child is a party to a case, the child appears by a guardian. If the child has no guardian, or the court finds the guardian an improper person, the court appoints one to act. Where the child is the plaintiff, a child who has reached 14 applies to the court. For a younger child, a relative or friend applies.

The general time limit for an injury caused by another person’s wrongful act or neglect is two years.

If the person entitled to bring the action was under the age of majority when the claim arose, the time of that disability is not part of the time limit for starting the action.

The general time limit for a personal injury is two years after the day the claim arises.

A person younger than 18 is under a legal disability, whether or not the person is married. If a person entitled to bring a personal action is under a legal disability when the claim arises, the time of the disability is not included in the limitations period. A disability that arises after the period starts does not suspend it.

The general time limit for most injury claims is three years.

If the person entitled to bring the action was under 18 when the claim arose, the time of that disability is not part of the time limit for starting the action.

The pause for minors does not apply to an action against a public entity or a public employee where a claim must first be presented under the Government Code.

A claim for an injury to a person must be presented to the public entity not later than six months after the claim arose.

If the six months are missed, a written application may be made to the public entity for leave to present the claim late. It must be made within a reasonable time, not to exceed one year after the claim arose, and must give the reason for the delay. The time during which the injured person is a minor is counted in that year. The statute lists narrow exceptions.

The public entity must grant the application if the injured person was a minor during all of the six months. If the person was a minor for only part of that time, it must grant the application if it is presented within six months after the person turns 18 or one year after the claim arose, whichever comes first. This does not remove the time limit on the application itself.

If the application is denied, a petition may be filed in the superior court within six months after the denial. The court must give relief if the application was made within the time allowed and the injured person was a minor during all of the six months. A lawsuit must then be filed within 30 days.

A governmental unit is entitled to receive notice of a claim not later than six months after the day of the incident. The statute also approves a city charter’s own notice period. This site has not verified whether a child’s age changes this deadline. Until a lawyer has looked at the facts, the site’s Texas deadline page treats it as running for a child the same as for an adult.

A claim for damages against a city, county or other local government must be presented to its agent on a tort claim form, within the time limit that applies to the lawsuit. No lawsuit may be started until 60 calendar days after the claim is presented. The form may be signed by a court approved guardian or guardian ad litem on behalf of the claimant. This site has not verified how the pause for minors applies to this claim.

Claims against the State are presented to the office of risk management, with the same 60 calendar day wait before a lawsuit and the same rule on who may sign the form.

The parents of an unmarried minor child may bring an action for an injury to the child caused by another person’s wrongful act or neglect. The statute sets conditions on how the parents join in the action.

The Texas Supreme Court has said that a child’s claim for an injury is distinctly separate from the parents’ right to recover for the child’s injury, and that historically the right to recover medical costs incurred for a minor belongs to the parents. In that case the child’s claim went ahead, but the parents’ own claims were barred because the time limit had run on them. The case was a medical claim, which this article does not cover, and it dates from 1983.

A parent or legal guardian who has regularly contributed to the support of a minor child may bring or join an action for the injury of the child. The damages listed in the statute include the child’s health care expenses.

Where a child has a disputed claim and no guardian of the estate, a parent has the right to settle it, unless the claim is against that parent. If the parents live apart, that right belongs to the parent who has the care, custody or control of the child. The settlement is valid only after the superior court approves it on a petition.

Once a lawsuit is pending, the guardian or guardian ad litem may settle it only with the approval of the court where it is pending.

The petition for approval must be verified by the person who files it and must fully disclose all information that bears on whether the settlement is reasonable.

The person who files the petition and the child must attend the hearing, unless the court for good cause excuses them.

A next friend, or the next friend’s attorney of record, may settle a suit with the approval of the court. A settlement approved by the court is binding on the child.

When an offer has been made to settle the claim of a child represented by a next friend, a guardian ad litem has the limited duty to determine and advise the court whether the settlement is in the child’s best interest.

In every settlement of a claim that involves an unemancipated minor, whether or not a case was filed in court, the court decides whether the proposed settlement is adequate and approves or rejects it.

When the petition is filed, the court appoints a settlement guardian ad litem, an attorney with at least five years of pertinent experience, to investigate and file a written report. The court may skip that appointment where a guardian has already been appointed or the child has independent counsel, if that person is qualified and has no conflicting interest.

The court that approves the settlement must order that reasonable expenses, medical or otherwise and including reimbursement to a parent, costs and attorney’s fees be paid from the money, in the amounts the court approves.

Unless the court approved the fee agreement in advance, it must use a reasonable fee standard when it approves attorney’s fees payable from a minor’s money.

Where the child has no guardian of the estate, the court orders how the rest is held. The choices in the statute include a deposit in an insured account in a financial institution in California, or in a single premium deferred annuity, that can be withdrawn only with the court’s authorization, a transfer to a custodian under the California Uniform Transfers to Minors Act, a trust the court creates or approves, and the appointment of a guardian of the estate.

If the rest does not exceed $5,000, the court may order it paid to a parent, without bond. The parent holds it in trust for the child until the child reaches majority and must give a sworn written assurance that the child’s total estate does not exceed $5,000.

Unless it orders otherwise, the court keeps jurisdiction over the money until the child reaches 18.

In a suit where a minor with no legal guardian is represented by a next friend or a guardian ad litem, the court may order how the money is invested. It may let the next friend or another person take possession of the money, but only after that person posts a bond. The next friend may place the money in insured, interest bearing time deposits or in listed savings programs such as a higher education savings plan.

On a finding that a trust is in the child’s best interests, the court may order the money placed in a trust. For a minor who is not disabled, the trust ends when the beneficiary dies, reaches an age stated in the trust or turns 25, whichever comes first.

On a motion from the parties, the court may provide for a structured settlement that makes periodic payments.

Except for any structured part, the whole settlement is paid into the registry of the court, or as the court otherwise orders. Costs, attorney’s fees, hospital and medical expenses and other deductions are paid on the court’s approval.

The court then orders that the rest be deposited in a bank, trust company or insured financial institution where it can be withdrawn only on a court order, paid to a court appointed guardian, or placed in a trust that meets the rule’s conditions. Which of these applies depends on whether more than $50,000 remains. An order for a blocked account should say that the money is payable on a further court order or to the child at the age of majority.