Children’s and Minor’s Law

In many areas, California law treats children differently than it treats adults. Because children are not mature enough to understand and look out for their own interests, the law supplies some protections for children that are not afforded to adults. In personal injury cases, California laws provide additional safeguards to protect children. In the personal injury context, some of the differences between an adult’s case and a child’s case are very important and can ultimately affect the recovery that your child makes.

• A Child is treated in San Diego County Emergency Rooms every 15 minutes.
• In 2009 1,200 children under the age of 14 were admitted to hospitals due to injury and there were nearly 40,000 Emergency Room Discharges for the same.
• California law classifies every child under the age of 18 as an “infant”. An infant is considered to be incapacitated and therefore unable to file a lawsuit in his own name. If a child has a personal injury case, or any other type of case, he may only file suit through his parents, or a legal guardian.
• Parents are responsible for the medical bills of their children, so when a child is injured and files a personal injury action, the child cannot claim the medical bills as damages. The child’s parents are the party that can file a claim for the losses they have incurred as a result of paying medical bills.
• When a child dies as a result of the negligence of another person, the deceased child’s estate has a cause of action for wrongful death. The case belongs to the estate of the deceased, and the administrator of the estate is the party that pursues the action and files the lawsuit. For a child a custodial parent is the administrator.

As you can see from the above representing minors (below the age of 18) is a complicated and specialized area of the law. The rights of children has been a special area of the law that I have vast experience in. Over the past 20 years, I have represented minors and heirs of deceased minors numerous times in a variety of cases including automobile accidents, pedestrian accidents, bicycle accidents, dog bites and medical malpractice matters including catastrophic brain injuries.

As children below the age of 18 are not competent to represent themselves, the law in California requires that a Guardian Ad Litem be appointed for any case that exceeds $5,000. in value. Moreover, the law in California requires a judge approve any settlement in excess of $5,000.

Children that are younger than 5 are held to different standards when viewing their conduct that may have contributed to an injury due to the fault of another. As a father of 3 children, I understands the special needs and attention that is required to adequately and competently represent a minor including working with the parents, the minor child, defense counsel and the court.

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