WHEN CHILD RECEIVES SETTLEMENT, WHAT HAPPENS TO THE MONEY?
If a child is injured in an accident, there are several legal issues to keep in mind: First, although the child has suffered the injury, in Minnesota, the parents are still responsible for the medical bills. When our injury attorneys in MN are hired to help after a child has been injured in an accident, we represent the child first. However, we also make sure that the parents are reimbursed for their expenses, including medical bills.
Second, any settlement of the child’s injury case must be approved by a court. This is required by law so that the court can make sure the settlement is fair for the child. Also, the money is protected for the child’s future use. Generally, the parent or legal guardian and the child must both come to court with their attorney. This is called a Minor Settlement Approval Hearing. The attorney leads the parent through a series of questions so that the judge can determine that the settlement is fair for the child. A judge is also provided with the child’s medical records and bills, and other facts about the case.
Third, any settlement for the child’s injury will generally not be available to the child until at least age 18. A judge can allow access to the money sooner, but only when need is truly shown for the child. The settlement money must be invested in a very safe way. The investment must be a bank certificate of deposit or insurance annuity. In addition, the money is in the injured child’s name and cannot be withdrawn by anyone else.
STRUCTURED PAYOUT OF CHILD’S INJURY SETTLEMENT
Many times, parents of a child who has suffered an accident injury in MN have our lawyers structure a payment schedule for the child. For example, the parents may want yearly payments to the child starting age 18. In some cases, there is no payment until age 22 when the child graduates college. This allows the child and family to still qualify for financial aid. These are issues that our MN child injury lawyers will discuss with you in more detail when you call our office.
Unfortunately, some children try to get the money sooner if the payments are to be made over a long period of time. For example, we had one parent set up a structured settlement where one of the child’s payments would not come until he was 35 years old. When the child was about 20 years old, he called us asking how he could sell the future payment to get some money now.
This is not a call our personal injury lawyers like to get. When someone sells a future payment like that, the terms are never good. In other words, the child is getting ripped off. Therefore, our attorneys will discuss the issue with the parents and encourage them to set up the structure in a way that the child will hopefully not want to sell it early.
LAWYER FOR CHILD INJURED IN ACCIDENT
If your son or daughter is injured in an accident, please call one of our experienced accident injury lawyers to discuss the potential case. We will provide you with a free consultation. Further, we never charge anything unless you or your child is compensated for the injury. Pam Rochlin and David Rochlin are attorneys with more than 25 years’ experience. We have successfully helped hundreds of people injured in accidents. Many of our cases involve a child injured at school, a daycare, in a car, on a bike, an ATV, etc. We will answer your questions and make sure that your child gets fair compensation for the injuries.