Teenagers can suffer serious injuries in car crashes, school incidents, workplace accidents, sports-related events, and accidents on another person’s property. If someone else is legally responsible, the injured teen may have a Texas personal injury claim.
However, a claim involving someone younger than 18 is handled differently from an adult’s case. Parents usually guide the process, but the claim belongs to the teen. Texas courts also take extra steps to protect a minor’s settlement and future interests.
Here is what parents should know.
Your Teen Is the Injured Claimant
Although parents manage most of the details, the personal injury claim generally belongs to the injured teenager.
The teen’s claim may include compensation for:
- Physical pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Disfigurement or scarring
- Physical impairment
- Lost earning capacity
- Future medical care
- Other long-term effects of the injury
Parents may also have a separate claim for certain expenses they were legally responsible for paying, such as medical bills incurred while the child was a minor. It is important to identify which damages belong to the teen and which may belong to the parents.
This distinction becomes especially important when a settlement is divided and presented to a court for approval.
A Parent May File the Lawsuit as “Next Friend”
A minor normally cannot file and manage a Texas lawsuit alone. If the teen does not have a legal guardian authorized to pursue the case, a parent or another responsible adult may bring the lawsuit as the teen’s next friend.
The teen remains the plaintiff. The parent acting as next friend helps make decisions, works with the attorney, and protects the teen’s interests during the case.
Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 44 allows a minor to be represented by a next friend. The rule also provides that the court must approve a settlement of the minor’s lawsuit before it becomes binding on the child.
A lawsuit might be styled:
“John Smith, individually and as next friend of JM, a minor.”
The word “individually” may appear when the parent is also making a separate claim.
Preserve Evidence Before It Disappears
Parents should begin preserving evidence as soon as possible. Depending on the accident, useful evidence may include:
- Photographs and videos of the scene
- Vehicle damage photographs
- Police or incident reports
- Witness names and contact information
- Medical records and bills
- School attendance records
- Sports participation records
- Work schedules and wage information
- Emails, text messages, and app communications
- Surveillance or dashboard-camera footage
Teenagers frequently use social media, which can create additional concerns. Insurance companies and defense attorneys may review public posts for photographs, comments, or videos they can use to question the seriousness of an injury.
Parents should tell their teen not to discuss the accident, injuries, or claim online. Existing posts should not be deleted without first speaking with an attorney, as deleting potentially relevant evidence may create additional problems.
Follow the Treatment Plan
Medical documentation is central to an injury claim. Parents should make sure their teenager attends follow-up appointments, completes recommended therapy, and follows reasonable medical instructions.
Gaps in treatment may allow an insurance company to argue that the injuries were not serious or that the teen recovered sooner than claimed.
Parents should also watch for less obvious effects. A teenager may become withdrawn, anxious, irritable, or embarrassed after an accident. Injuries may also affect concentration, grades, sleep, friendships, sports, and extracurricular activities.
Keeping a simple record of these changes can help show how the injury affected the teen’s daily life.
Do Not Rush to Accept an Early Settlement
An insurance adjuster may contact the family soon after the accident. The adjuster may request a recorded statement, medical authorization, or quick settlement.
Parents should be cautious. A teen may still be recovering, and the full consequences of an injury may not be known for months. Growth-related complications, future surgery, scarring, emotional trauma, or permanent physical limitations may not be clear immediately.
Once a claim is fully and validly settled, the family generally cannot return later to demand additional compensation because the injury worsened.
Parents should understand the teen’s medical outlook before deciding whether an offer is fair.
Your Teen May Participate in the Case
The teenager may need to take an active role, particularly if a lawsuit is filed. Depending on the teen’s age, maturity, and the disputed issues, the teen may:
- Meet with the attorney.
- Help explain how the accident happened.
- Answer the written questions.
- Attend a medical examination.
- Give a deposition
- Participate in mediation
- Appear at a settlement hearing or trial.
Parents should prepare the teen without coaching the teen to give a particular answer. The safest instruction is simple: listen carefully, tell the truth, and say when you do not remember or understand something.
Do Not Assume There Is Plenty of Time
Texas generally provides a two-year limitations period for personal injury claims. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.001 treats a person younger than 18 as legally disabled and generally excludes the period of minority from the limitations calculation.
That does not mean parents should wait.
The parents’ separate claims may have different deadlines. Claims involving governmental entities, public schools, municipalities, or medical malpractice may also involve special notice rules, shorter deadlines, or different limitations provisions.
Evidence can disappear long before a filing deadline expires. Video may be overwritten, witnesses may move, vehicles may be repaired, and businesses may destroy records under normal retention policies.
Prompt investigation is almost always safer.
A Court May Need to Approve the Settlement
A parent cannot simply treat the teen’s settlement money as family funds. When a minor’s lawsuit is settled, the court reviews the agreement to determine whether it protects the child.
The judge may consider:
- The settlement amount
- The severity of the injuries
- The teen’s medical prognosis
- Attorney fees and case expenses
- Medical bills and reimbursement claims
- The allocation between the parent and the teen
- How the teen’s net settlement will be protected
A guardian ad litem may also be appointed in certain circumstances. Under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 173, appointment is required when the parent or guardian appears to have an interest adverse to the minor or when the parties agree. When reviewing a proposed settlement, the guardian ad litem advises the court whether the agreement is in the minor’s best interest.
The Teen May Not Receive the Money Immediately
The portion of the settlement belonging to the teenager is usually protected rather than paid directly to the parents for unrestricted use.
Depending on the circumstances, the court may approve:
- A deposit into the court registry
- A restricted financial account
- A structured settlement providing future payments
- A court-created trust
- Another arrangement designed to protect the minor
Texas Property Code Chapter 142 governs several methods for managing property recovered for a minor in a lawsuit.
The best arrangement may depend on the settlement amount, the teen’s age, future medical needs, college plans, and whether the teen receives needs-based government benefits.
Protecting Your Teen’s Future Comes First
A Texas injury claim involving a minor requires more than proving who caused the accident. Parents must preserve evidence, coordinate treatment, meet legal deadlines, separate the parents’ damages from the teen’s damages, and obtain any necessary court approval.
The additional procedures may make the case take longer, but they serve an important purpose: protecting the injured teen and ensuring the recovery remains available for the teen’s future.
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