INJURY SETTLEMENT FOR CHILD, WHAT HAPPENS TO THE MONEY? ATTORNEYS MINNESOTA
When a child is injured in an accident, several legal issues come up.
First, although the child has suffered the injury, the parents are legally responsible for the medical bills. Therefore, when our MN injury lawyers represent a child, we also make sure that the parents are reimbursed for their expenses. In particular, the child’s medical bills. The parents should also be compensated for mileage going to and from doctor appointments, and hopefully for time taken off from work.
COURT APPROVAL OF CHILD’S INJURY SETTLEMENT
Second, the child’s injury settlement must get a judge’s approval before it is final. This is required by law so the court can verify that the settlement is fair for the child. The procedure is called a Minor Settlement Approval Court Hearing. Generally, in Minnesota, the parent or legal guardian and the child must come to court with their personal injury attorney. Of course, today that is frequently done over Zoom. The lawyer for the injured child will lead the parent through a series of questions so that the judge can determine that the injury settlement is fair for the child. The judge will also look at the child’s medical records and bills, and other facts about the case.
INVESTING MINOR’S SETTLEMENT MONEY
Third, the child’s settlement money for the accident injury is not available to the child until he or she is at least 18 years old. The only exception is if a court agrees money is needed sooner for the benefit of the child. Also, the injury settlement money must be invested in a very safe way. In most cases, this means a bank deposit or guaranteed insurance annuity.
However, the parents can also have our attorneys structure the settlement for a later payout. For example, there could be yearly payments starting age 18, or not starting until age 22 when the child graduates college. In some cases, this is done so that the child and family can still qualify for financial aid without counting the settlement money. The structure is arranged before the settlement money is distributed and cannot be changed afterwards. These are issues that a MN child injury lawyer will discuss with you in more detail when you call our office.
Unfortunately, sometimes the injured child will try to get at the money sooner. For example, in one case, the parents didn’t want the payment to come until the child was 40 years old. When the child was about 20 years old, he called the attorney asking how he could sell the future payment to get some money now. This is not a call a personal injury lawyer likes to get. When someone sells a future payment like that, the terms are never good. Therefore, the lawyer for an injured child will help you set up the structure in a way that the child will hopefully not want to sell it early.
ATTORNEYS FOR CHILD INJURED IN ACCIDENT MN
If your son or daughter was injured in an accident, call us to discuss the potential case with a lawyer. Our attorneys represent children injured in a car accident, dog bite, school accident, and many other situations. We have also represented many families whose child was killed in an accident in MN.
Pam Rochlin and David Rochlin are Minnesota personal injury lawyers with more than 25 years’ experience. We have successfully helped hundreds of people injured in accidents. A lawyer will answer your questions and make sure that your child gets fair compensation for the injuries. We will provide you with a free consultation. Further, we never charge anything unless our client receives compensation for their injuries.
You can meet with our accident injury lawyers to discuss your child’s case at our offices in Edina, Minneapolis MN, St. Louis Park, and Woodbury MN. Our lawyers also meet with people at their homes in St. Paul MN, Roseville, White Bear Lake, Forest Lake, and Lino Lakes. A lawyer will also come to Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Golden Valley, Anoka MN, Plymouth, Maple Grove, and Rogers. Also, Chanhassen, Chaska, Apple Valley, Burnsville, Albert Lea, and other cities throughout Minnesota.