For a child injured in a car accident in Texas, parents usually think about the hospital first and the claim much later. Texas law does give children extra time to sue. The evidence and the insurance steps, though, run on the same short clock as everyone else’s.
Automobile Accident Lawyers Houston belongs to LAWBOSS – Harris, Nelsen & Uvalle, PLLC, and this article was prepared at the firm’s Houston office, 5300 Memorial Dr Ste 810. Jonathan Harris, Board Certified, Personal Injury Trial Law – Texas Board of Legal Specialization, carries responsibility for this website. What follows is general information, not advice about your child’s case.
A child’s deadline to sue generally starts at 18
The ordinary rule in Texas is that a personal injury suit must be brought no later than two years after the day the claim accrues (Civil Practice and Remedies Code 16.003). For a minor, the law does not count the time the person is under that disability (CPRC 16.001). In practice, a child’s two years generally begin at 18.
That extra time is easy to misread. The rule is about when a lawsuit can be filed. It does nothing to keep a crash scene, a damaged car seat or a witness’s memory from disappearing.
Why the evidence and insurance clocks do not wait
Most of the proof for a child injured in a car accident in Texas exists for a short time:
- The vehicles get repaired or sold for scrap, and the damage pattern goes with them.
- The child seat, part of the physical evidence, gets thrown away.
- Witnesses move, change numbers or simply forget.
- Video from a dash camera or a nearby business may be erased.
- The other driver’s insurer starts building its own version of events within days.
Families who call early keep the choice open. They can collect the proof now and decide on timing later.
Keep the car seat and the records
If your child was in a car seat or booster, set it aside after the crash instead of throwing it out, and photograph it. Keep the crash report number. An officer who investigates a crash with injury files a report with TxDOT within 10 days (Transportation Code 550.062), and the people involved and their representatives can buy the full report for a small fee (550.065). Keep every discharge paper, prescription and bill from your child’s care.
PIP and UM in the family policy
Two coverages in the family’s auto policy often matter for a child injured in a car accident in Texas:
- Personal injury protection (PIP) must be included unless rejected in writing (Insurance Code 1952.152). The statute sets $2,500 per person as the most it requires (1952.153). PIP is paid without regard to fault (1952.155) and must be paid within 30 days after satisfactory proof of the claim (1952.156).
- Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM) is in every Texas policy unless a named insured rejected it in writing (Insurance Code 1952.101). It can matter when the driver at fault has no insurance or too little.
Whether a policy’s PIP or UM terms reach a particular child depends on the wording of that policy, so we read the family’s policy and the other driver’s together. Our article on an uninsured driver accident in Houston covers UM/UIM in more detail.
Was your child hurt in a crash? Call our Houston office and talk with an attorney, at no charge.
Who brings the claim for a child
A child injured in a car accident in Texas cannot manage a legal claim alone. An adult acts on the child’s behalf, usually a parent or legal guardian. Which adult that is, and what steps follow, depends on the family and the facts of the case, and we explain it in the first consultation.
If a parent was hurt in the same crash, that adult’s own injury claim follows the ordinary two-year rule in CPRC 16.003, without the extra time a child has.
Fault, and what an insurer may argue
Texas uses modified comparative fault: recovery is barred when a claimant’s percentage of responsibility is greater than 50 percent (CPRC 33.001), and it is reduced by the claimant’s own share (33.012). A defendant may also ask to designate a responsible third party (33.004), which is one way insurers try to spread blame among drivers.
Trauma care for children in Houston
The Texas Department of State Health Services lists Texas Children’s Hospital as a Level I trauma facility on a contingent basis, and Harris Health Ben Taub Hospital and Memorial Hermann – Texas Medical Center as Comprehensive Level I trauma facilities, all in Houston.
How our Houston attorneys help families
Our Houston attorneys worked for insurers before they represented injured people. Ian Nelsen was an adjuster and an insurance defense attorney, and Jonathan Harris spent more than a decade as a senior trial attorney for a major automobile insurance company. When a child injured in a car accident in Texas is the client, we gather the evidence early, deal with the insurers so the family can focus on recovery, and plan the timing of any lawsuit with the child’s longer deadline in mind.
For the full claim process, see our auto accident lawyer Houston page. If the crash involved a school or city bus, read about our bus accident lawyer Houston work, since claims against a government unit need written notice within six months (CPRC 101.101).
Cost to the family
No Fees or Costs Unless We Win, and that covers expenses too: the firm pays them while the case is open, and if no money is recovered, the family owes no attorney’s fee and pays back none of those costs. The consultation is free.
Questions people ask
My child seems fine after the crash. Should we still see a doctor?
Yes. Children cannot always describe pain, and a medical visit creates a record from the day of the crash.
If my child has until 18, why call a lawyer now?
The extra time applies to filing a lawsuit. Photos, the car seat, video and witnesses are easiest to save in the first days.
Does it matter that my own car’s policy had PIP?
It can, because PIP does not turn on who caused the crash. Whether it covers a given child depends on the policy, which we read with you.