{"id":1789,"date":"2024-03-01T08:21:35","date_gmt":"2024-03-01T08:21:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charming-narrative.mysites.io\/?p=1789"},"modified":"2024-03-01T08:21:35","modified_gmt":"2024-03-01T08:21:35","slug":"texas-personal-injury-settlements-involving-minors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/burwellnebout.com\/es\/texas-personal-injury-settlements-involving-minors\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas Personal Injury Settlements Involving Minors"},"content":{"rendered":"

Texas Personal Injury Settlements Involving Minors<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, an estimated 9.2 million children received treatment in emergency departments for an unintentional injury. These injuries were suffered from incidents that included everything from falls, fires, burns, and drowning to vehicle accidents. While most were non-life-threatening or relatively minor, others were serious\u2014and the result of negligence or recklessness by the party who caused harm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Filing a personal injury claim is a way to get compensation for someone injured in an accident through the fault of another. A settlement offer is made by the insurance company to the injured party to cover costs for medical treatment and other \u201cspecial\u201d damages, or those that can easily have a dollar amount put on them, such as loss of property or lost wages. However, when a minor is injured, things often get more complicated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is a minor settlement?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to Texas law, a minor is a child who is not yet 18 years of age or has not been legally emancipated. As such, the minor is not yet old enough to enter into a contract or a settlement with an insurance company. That\u2019s where a minor settlement hearing comes in. Often, and particularly where the settlement is going to be large, the insurance company requests this to ensure that once a settlement is reached, the insurance company is released from any additional liability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The court\u2019s concern is that any settlement reached is in the best interests of the child and is there for the benefit of the child. As your son\u2019s or daughter\u2019s parents (or guardian), you bring the claim on behalf of your child and are named the \u201cnext friend of the child.\u201d To ensure that the child\u2019s best interests are represented, the court may appoint a guardian ad litem. If appointed, the ad litem has several roles under Texas Civil Code 173.4: To \u201cact as an officer and advisor to the court,\u201d which includes determining and advising the court \u201cwhether a party\u2019s next friend or guardian has an interest adverse to the party.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lastly, in order to ascertain whether a settlement is fair to the child, the court may also hold a \u201cminor settlement prove-up hearing.\u201d This is done to ensure that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n