When a child is hurt: how injury settlements for minors work in California

Yes. Under Probate Code section 3500, a parent can agree to settle a minor’s disputed claim, but the settlement is valid only after the superior court approves it. The petition can be filed in the county where the child lives or in any county where the lawsuit could properly be brought. A parent can’t settle a claim the child has against that same parent.

If a lawsuit has already been filed, the child takes part through a guardian of the estate or a guardian ad litem appointed by the court, and the case can be settled only with the approval of the court where it is pending (Code of Civil Procedure section 372).

California Rule of Court 7.950 requires a verified petition that gives “a full disclosure of all information that has any bearing upon the reasonableness” of the settlement. It must be filed on Judicial Council form MC-350 unless the case qualifies for the faster process under Rule of Court 7.950.5 (form MC-350EX). Only cases that meet every condition in that rule qualify, including that the family has a lawyer and that the settlement is $50,000 or less or the defendants are paying their full insurance limits.

In practice, the petition typically lays out how the injury happened, the child’s medical treatment and recovery, the settlement amount, medical bills and liens, and the attorney fees and costs, so the judge can decide whether the deal is fair to the child. The judge also approves the attorney’s fee using a reasonable-fee standard (Rule of Court 7.955), and the parent and child generally attend the hearing unless the court excuses them (Rule of Court 7.952).

The court decides how the child’s share is held. Under Probate Code section 3611, options include:

• Depositing the money in an insured account at a California financial institution, or in a single-premium deferred annuity, that can be withdrawn only with court authorization.
• Appointing a guardian of the estate to manage the money.
• Placing the money in a special needs trust, after a hearing, for a child with a disability.
• Transferring the money to a custodian under the California Uniform Transfers to Minors Act.
• If the child’s remaining share is $20,000 or less, other arrangements the court finds are in the child’s best interest, and if it is $5,000 or less, paying it to a parent to hold for the child.

Before the child’s share is set aside, the court can approve paying reasonable medical and other expenses (including paying a parent back), costs, and attorney’s fees from the settlement (Probate Code section 3601). The rest is protected for the child until adulthood.

For most injury claims, the two-year deadline doesn’t start running until the child turns 18 (Code of Civil Procedure section 352), so the child generally has until two years after their 18th birthday to file. The usual deadline is two years from the injury for adults (Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1, as read in the official code).

There’s an important exception. Section 352(b) says the pause does not apply to claims against a public entity or public employee when a government claim is required. If a city bus, a public school, or another public agency was involved, a government claim is generally due within six months, even for a child (Government Code section 911.2). If that deadline is missed, a late-claim application can be filed within a reasonable time, up to one year after the injury, and the agency must grant it if the child was a minor for the whole six-month period (Government Code sections 911.4 and 911.6).

Some claims have their own deadlines. A medical malpractice claim for a child is generally due within three years, and for a child under 6, within three years or before the 8th birthday, whichever is longer (Code of Civil Procedure section 340.5). A claim for an injury before or during birth must be filed within six years after the birth (section 340.4). A parent’s own claim, such as for the child’s medical bills, may have a shorter deadline than the child’s claim.

Waiting also has practical costs. Evidence fades, and it gets harder to show how the injury changed a child’s life.

• Get medical care and keep every record, including follow-up visits and school notes.
• Keep a simple journal of symptoms, missed school, and activities your child can’t do.
• Don’t sign a release for your child without understanding that it generally needs court approval to be binding.
• Find out who was responsible, such as a driver, a property owner, a school, or a product maker, since that can change the deadline.

See our child injury page for more on these cases.

• Rule 7.950, Petition for approval of compromise of claim or action or disposition of proceeds of judgment for minor or person with a disability (Judicial Council of California)
• Rule 7.950.5, Expedited petition (Judicial Council of California)
• Rule 7.955, Attorney fees for services to a minor (Judicial Council of California)
• Probate Code section 3601 (California Legislative Information)
• Government Code section 911.2 (California Legislative Information)
• Government Code section 911.6 (California Legislative Information)
• Code of Civil Procedure section 340.5 (California Legislative Information)
• Probate Code section 3500 (California Legislative Information)
• Probate Code section 3611 (California Legislative Information)
• Code of Civil Procedure section 372 (California Legislative Information)
• Code of Civil Procedure section 352 (California Legislative Information)
• California statutes of limitations, read in the official code (Probative), CC BY 4.0

If your child was hurt, the child injury lawyers at Wilshire Law Firm can review your family’s situation in a free case review with a legal professional, available 24/7, with no fees unless you get paid.

This guide is a general overview, not legal advice for your child’s case. Every family’s situation is different, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Contact Wilshire Law Firm to talk through your child’s claim.