For a parent, there is no phone call more terrifying than learning your child has been hit by a car while riding their bicycle. After a crash, your whole family can be overwhelmed with financial and emotional distress, from the high cost of the bill to the high physical and emotional toll of the injuries. If the collision was caused by a negligent driver, you have the right to pursue your claims for damages. But how do you navigate an insurance claim when a minor is the victim, and how can you ensure your child is treated fairly?
At Jones & Koch Law Firm, we defend accident victims in Houston, Cypress, TX, and Corpus Christi in their quest for the full compensation they are entitled to receive. Our highly-qualified legal team is dedicated to ensuring that the rights of your family are upheld if your child was injured in a residential neighborhood accident or a more severe accident at an intersection. This guide will discuss how Texas law views young riders, how settlements for minors are structured, and why it is important to have an experienced personal injury attorney helping you with your claim.
What Does Child Bicycle Accident Compensation Cover?
If you file a claim against the negligent driver, you are seeking to cover the damages that your child and your family have suffered. In Texas personal injury law, these are usually classified into two main categories of damages: Economic Damages and Non-Economic Damages.
Economic Damages
Economic damages compensate you for the financial losses you’ve incurred as a direct result of the accident. They are measurable and could be identified in receipts, invoices, and medical record keeping. They typically contain:
- Medical Expenses: Ambulance, pediatric ER, hospital, orthopedic surgery, prescriptions, and physical therapy.
- Future Medical Care: Children’s bones are still growing. When a child’s growth plates break as a result of impact, it can lead to lifelong developmental problems. Future surgeries or ongoing specialized care are part of the settlement.
- Parents’ Lost Wages: If you missed work because you could not work or left your job to stay at the hospital to care for your injured child, you may be entitled to be compensated for such lost wages.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages refer to the non-quantifiable and subjective damages that your child has suffered. These can be the most devastating effects of an accident, and can include:
- Pain and Suffering: Compensation for the actual pain and discomfort your kid experiences from the injuries.
- Emotional Distress: Kids may experience a lot of emotional distress after a crash, for example, pediatric PTSD, night terrors, anxiety about roads, or fear of riding a bicycle again.
- Permanent Disfigurement or Scarring: Compensation for the physical effects or scarring that will remain for life due to a traumatic collision.
Understanding Texas Law and Children on the Road
One of the most complex parts of any auto accident lawsuit is determining liability. The state of Texas uses a “modified comparative negligence” rule. Typically, when an adult is more than 50% responsible for an accident, they will not receive any compensation. The same thing will happen to your child when they are involved in an insurance accident, and they will be blamed for “darting out” or for not yielding.
Yet Texas civil law takes into account that a kid’s mind is not fully developed. Texas courts follow a special legal doctrine in the case of minors:
- Children Under 5 Years Old: Under Texas law, young children are generally considered legally incapable of negligence. An insurance adjuster cannot legally blame a toddler or young child for contributing to the accident.
- Ages 5-14: Defines the standard of conduct for the child by the reasonable conduct of a child of the same age, intelligence, and experience in the same situation, not an adult.
- The Driver’s Heightened Duty: Texas drivers have an additional duty to drive more carefully in areas where children are likely to be found, such as school zones, residential subdivisions, and public parks.
Dealing with Insurance Companies and the “Friendly Suit”
In most cases, the auto insurance policy will be the primary source for compensation when an accident occurs due to a careless driver and trauma occurs to a child. But it’s never easy working with an insurance that’s over profits. Adjusters might make an initial, low-ball offer for the settlement, with the expectation that you’ll take it before you understand all the extent of your kid’s injuries.
If your child’s condition gets worse, and you sign a release, you will be unable to close the claim again. Moreover, parents are not allowed to just sign a standard liability waiver and spend or hold the settlement funds for their child.
To protect minors from predatory settlements, Texas law requires a unique judicial procedure known as a “Friendly Suit” (or a Minor’s Prove-Up hearing). If a settlement is agreed upon:
- Guardian Ad Litem: The court appoints an independent attorney to review the case and ensure the settlement is genuinely in the best interest of the child.
- The Prove-Up Hearing: A judge reviews the child’s medical recovery and approves the financial details under oath.
- Protecting the Funds: By Texas law, the money must be placed into a secure vehicle—such as the Registry of the Court or a Structured Settlement Annuity—which remains completely untouched until the child turns 18.
Why You Need a Child Bicycle Accident Attorney
It’s not easy to deal with the fallout from an accident without a lawyer. Does insurance automatically step up to cover everything? No. It is all up to you to prove the driver’s negligence and the predictable long-term damages to your child.
A skilled personal injury lawyer from Jones & Koch Law Firm will:
- Thoroughly investigate the crash scene, secure traffic or Ring doorbell camera footage, and obtain the official police report.
- Shield you from aggressive insurance adjusters who try to use “negligent parental supervision” traps to devalue your claim.
- Work alongside pediatric medical experts to ensure future growth-plate complications and physical therapy needs are fully factored into your demand.
- Take your case to trial if the insurance provider refuses to offer the fair compensation your family deserves.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the statute of limitations for a child injury in Texas?
The legal clock for the child’s personal injury claim is “tolled” (held up) until the child is 18 years old, however, parents must file a claim within 2 years of the accident to seek reimbursement of medical expenses. From a legal perspective, the child can file until the age of 20. But do not be late: evidence is lost and memories are erased in a flash.
How much compensation can you get for a child’s bicycle accident?
The extent of the injuries, insurance policy limits and long-term impairments are all significant factors that influence the total settlement. A minor scrape and bruise could cost a few thousand dollars, while catastrophic injuries with fractures, concussions or internal trauma can cost a few hundred thousand or even millions of dollars.
Can an insurance company access my child’s entire medical history?
Adjusters are likely to require a broad medical release form to review your child’s medical history from birth to find any pre-existing conditions to which they can point. Do not ask them to sign their forms. Only relevant and relevant medical records, which are limited and redacted, will be compiled and submitted by your attorney, directly about the bicycle accident.
Schedule Your Free Case Evaluation Today
You don’t have to go through this legal process by yourself, while at the same time taking care of your recovering child. All cases of personal injury are handled on a contingent fee basis with Jones & Koch Law Firm. This means that you do not have to pay anything upfront and we will only take a fee if we are successful in winning your claim.
Do the initial steps to secure your child’s future. We welcome you to have a no-cost case consultation with our staff. We’ll listen to your story, go over the details of the accident, and give you actionable legal advice.