You can file a personal injury claim if you were injured in a car accident and need help paying for your medical bills, lost wages due to missed work, as well as general pain and suffering costs. If the driver who caused the accident happened to be a minor at the time, there are different options available to you for filing a personal injury claim and receiving the compensation you need.
Personal Injury Claims Against Minors
When a child causes an accident, whether or not they are responsible for the accident is usually determined by their age, and therefore if they are old enough to know right from wrong. In the case of car accidents, it is assumed that the minor is old enough to know right from wrong and hold responsibility for the accident if they are old enough to drive a car. Still, there are some differences in filing a personal injury claim against a minor compared to an adult driver.
Driving Qualifications for Minors
Although the number of fatalities to drivers between the ages of 15 and 18 declined by nearly 50% between 2007 and 2016, teenagers remain overrepresented in the total number of fatal crashes attributed to vehicle accidents.
According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), teens are two times more likely than adult drivers to be involved in a fatal auto crash.
NHTSA research also concluded that inexperience and immaturity represent the two most influential factors that contribute to fatal teen auto accidents. Both factors trigger high-risk, low-reward behaviors, such as consuming alcohol and using electronic devices while driving.
The continuing teen driver fatality crisis has led every state to implement the standards mandated by Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) laws.
GDL guidelines ensure teen drivers have more time under low risk circumstances to learn how to operate a motor vehicle properly.
An Overview of the GDL System
The specifics of GDL vary among the 50 states, but the framework of the laws is about the same. Each state has established three stages of driving qualifications to demonstrate teen responsibility for driving a motor vehicle.
1st Stage-Learner’s permit
- Minimum age requirement
- Length of time
- Supervision required during driving exercises
2nd Stage-Provisional license
- Minimum age requirement
- Driving restricted at night
- Passenger restrictions
3rd Stage-Full driving rights
- Minimum age requirement
- No driving restrictions
States differ on teen driver laws mostly on the minimum age required to meet the criteria for each of the three GDL stages. For example, one state might establish a minimum age for earning a provisional license at 14 years, six months, while another state requires a teen to be 15 before earning a provisional driver’s license.
Some Licensing Rules are Different for Minors
Although a growing number of states have passed laws that ban text messaging while driving, the electronic restrictions placed on teen drivers is much stricter. Many states prohibit the use of any electronic device by a teen while driving, which includes using a GPS device to navigate a motor vehicle.
Some states forbid teens from driving anyone for up to one year after receiving a full driver’s license.
Other licensing rules that differ for teens include the legal requirement that parents must certify the driving expertise of their kids for up to 50 hours of driving time. A teen might have to face a six to 12 month holding period before receiving a full driver’s license.
It is important for parents to stay abreast of teen driving laws, since state and federal laws can change from one year to the next year.
Here a few helpful tips for parents to follow when monitoring teen driving skills:
- Keep a daily driving log
- Use your state’s driver’s license agency website to acquire the driver manual and the parent guide for supervising teen driving
- Know your state’s GDL laws
Liability of the Minor and Parents
A driver of a vehicle who is a minor is usually covered under his or her own insurance policy, or the insurance policy of their parents. If the minor is either:
- Not covered on their parents’ insurance policy
- Driving a car that is owned by their parents
Then the parents are legally liable for the car accident, and you should seek payment by filing a personal injury claim with their insurance company.
Another possibility is that the minor owns the car involved in the accident and does not have any insurance. In most states, this also makes the parents responsible for paying damages to the injured driver. Most states limit this amount of damages to between $5,000 and $25,000. In a case such as this one, you can file a personal injury claim against the parents of the minor and receive compensation from their insurance policies for up to the limit of your personal damages.
Another option is to pursue a lawsuit against the minor, which is possible for cases in which the minor is not insured. If you are able to go to a court of law and request a legal judgment on how much the minor owes you for your damages, the minor will have to pay you that amount upon his or her coming of age. Coming of age is usually 18 years old in most states, as this is when the minor can start earning substantial income. Note that this process can be lengthy and complicated. If you want to pursue a lawsuit against the minor, it is likely only worth it in cases of serious, and expensive, injury.
Damages Awarded for Auto Accident Claims
Teen drivers that are found to be responsible for causing a vehicle crash have the same legal obligation to cover several different types of costs. Insurance claims to pay for medical bills cover expenses such as diagnostic, treatment, and rehabilitation costs.
Property damage to a vehicle and items stored inside of a vehicle can also be part of the monetary damages awarded for auto accident claims. Lost wages, which can occur because of more serious injuries, are another type of monetary damage that covers the costs of a vehicle accident.
Pain and Suffering
For personal injury claims, pain and suffering is mostly about accounting for the mental issues that follow a car accident. Emotional distress symptoms can include insomnia, mood swings, and memory loss. Pain and suffering is also about the temporary or permanent physical pain and discomfort caused by a vehicle crash.
Courts award damages for pain and suffering based on one of two calculating methods. The per diem method of calculating pain and suffering damages takes the average dollar amount of one day of medical care and then multiplying the average daily dollar amount by the number of days a victim suffered from the injuries caused by an auto accident. As the more common method used to calculate pain and suffering damages, the multiplier method totals a victim’s monetary damages and then multiplies it with a number ranging from 1 to 5.
Speak with a Personal Injury Attorney
It is difficult to come up with an accurate figure that covers all of the costs associated with an auto accident. By working with a highly skilled personal injury attorney, you will be able to calculate the costs of medical expenses, as well as the tougher to calculate costs of pain and suffering.
Most personal injury lawyers schedule free initial consultations with new clients to determine the best course of legal action.
