Bringing a Negligence Claim for a Child's Crash Injuries

Attorney Answer

Yes, in principle — a driver who injures a child owes the same duty of care as to anyone else, and the family relationship neither creates the claim nor blocks it. The harder questions are whose claim it is, and how much time is left.

Every driver in Texas owes other people on the road ordinary care, and a driver who fails at that and causes injury can be held responsible. Nothing changes because the driver is someone you know or someone your ex knows. Fault is decided by conduct, and Texas allocates it by the numbers: under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.003 the trier of fact assigns each party a whole-number percentage of responsibility. Section 33.001 provides that "In an action to which this chapter applies, a claimant may not recover damages if his percentage of responsibility is greater than 50 percent," and § 33.012(a) reduces damages by the claimant's own share when it is 50 percent or less. Under § 33.013(a), a defendant is normally liable only for its own percentage.

Now the part your question really turns on. The injury claim belongs to your child, not to you. In Texas an adult ordinarily brings that claim on the child's behalf rather than in the adult's own name, and a parent may separately have a claim for the medical expenses paid for the child. Settling a child's claim also usually involves protections the parties cannot simply agree around. The procedural rules for how a minor's claim is brought and approved have their own detail, so ask a Texas lawyer how it works before you agree to anything or sign a release for your child.

Insurance is worth checking on both sides. Tex. Transp. Code § 601.051 requires financial responsibility for every vehicle operated in Texas, and § 601.072(a-1) sets the minimums at $30,000 for bodily injury to one person, $60,000 for two or more, and $25,000 for property damage in one collision — figures a serious injury to a child can exceed. If his coverage is missing or too small, look at your own policy: Tex. Ins. Code § 1952.101(b) requires an insurer to provide uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage with a Texas auto liability policy, and § 1952.101(c) provides that "The coverage required by this subchapter does not apply if any insured named in the insurance policy rejects the coverage in writing." Personal injury protection follows the same structure under § 1952.152, and § 1952.155(a) makes those benefits payable without regard to fault or to any collateral source.

What you can do

1. Get your child's medical records and bills together, including any follow-up care, and keep treating on the doctor's schedule.

2. Request the officer's crash report from the investigating agency.

3. Ask your own insurer in writing for the full policy and any signed written rejection of uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage or personal injury protection.

4. Photograph any vehicle damage and the child's visible injuries, and keep receipts for anything you have paid out of pocket.

5. Do not sign any release or settlement document about your child's claim until a Texas lawyer has read it.

6. Ask a Texas lawyer promptly how the deadline works for a child's claim as opposed to your own, because the two are not the same and the answer depends on your facts. Most lawyers offer a brief initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003(a) sets two years from the day the cause of action accrues for personal injury and for injury to property. Texas treats a minor's own claim differently from an adult's in ways this page cannot spell out, and any claim of your own for your child's expenses may run on a different schedule. Do not assume a child's injury buys extra time. Have a Texas attorney review the dates now.