Injury claims are different for children or minors, those below 18 years of age in Nevada or California. Generally, it’s two years from the age of majority that a claim can be filed. But a guardian is required. We handle this for you so that you do not have to go to court alone. (NOTE: if injury caused by a medical professional or organization or a government entity may have different rules that apply and different statutes of limitation.) This is not legal advice but a general discussion of concepts relating to children who have been injured in accidents.
Let’s talk about kids, or minors. And what’s a minor? Somebody under 18 years of age. What happens when kids get hurt due to the fault of somebody else? First off, if you have a child that’s been hurt, I really sympathize. I don’t think anybody thinks anything is worse than watching a child be in pain, because they’re so helpless and they can’t really voice in terms that we necessarily understand what’s going on with them. You just know that they’re hurting, and they can get really down about it because they don’t understand what’s happening to them, especially if they’re little kids.
So what happens if your child had an injury that was caused by somebody else and it was documented at the time, but you just never did anything about it? You never filed a suit. You’re wondering is it too late. It could be too late. It kind of just depends on when it happened. So let me just tell you generally in broad strokes, in California and Nevada, if the situation is one of negligence by somebody else or possibly even intentional, but let’s just focus on negligence, if that happened more than two years ago, it’s too late to pursue a claim in court.
However, with children it’s a little bit different. The two years starts to run from the date they reach the age of majority, or when they reach 18. So basically you have until they’re 19 and 364 days to file a suit for a child. So 19 years old and 364 days. If you file on their 20th birthday, it’s too late. So the law gives you some time to do that, and gives the child time to do that, because let’s say the parent didn’t want to sue, but the child after they reach the age of majority, they can file an action in court themselves. They can choose to do that on their own once they’re 18. So that’s basically how that works, and that’s both in California and Nevada.
There are exceptions to this. I would say one of the main exceptions is medical negligence or what is called medical malpractice. That’s a completely different thing. So if the injury is caused by a medical provider, this conversation does not apply. And if it was caused due to the result of a government entity, some special rules might apply, but generally it’s two years after they reach the age of majority. Actually one year and 364 days. So that’s what that is, and it may be too late or it may not be too late. So if you have a child that was injured and you’d like to get a little bit more information about whether that claim is still viable, you can give us a call. We would be interested in talking to you.
It may be that there’s just nothing there, or it may be that it’s not something that we can handle. But do call us, and if I’m not on the phone with a client or in court I’d be happy to talk to you.