Special rules for minors

With the exception of medical bills and other out of pocket costs and losses, and claims against governmental agencies, governmental employees, and humane societies, all states allow some extra time for making a claim on behalf of a person who is under the age of 18. However, at the risk of repeating what was written above, it is very complicated, there are exceptions to the rules and exceptions to the exceptions, and by "make a claim" the law means file a lawsuit, not just a report or an insurance claim.

In most states, a minor and his parents can wait a period of time after the child turns 18. In these states, the period described in the statute of limitations does not begin running until the victim's 18th birthday. For example, a California victim who was injured at age three could wait until he turned 20, because the statute would not begin ticking down until he turned 18, at which time he would have two years (see the table, above). Georgia, Tennessee and a number of other states follow this rule (i.e., the minor must attain the age of majority, at which point he would have the amount of time specified in the statute of limitations; do not assume it is two years, but check the chart, above). In some of these states, however, the minor does not get the full period of limitations when he turns 18 (for example, in South Carolina the statute tolls during minority but upon attaining legal age the minor has only one year to file suit).

In some states, parents and children have different periods of limitations for the same incident. For example, in Ohio a child can bring an injury claim at any time until he or she attains the age of 20. However, Ohio law also says that the claim or suit for the medical bills and other costs has to be brought by the child's parents within 2 years from the date of the injury. That is because the obligation to pay medical bills and costs is an obligation of the parents and not the child. In an Ohio case, therefore, a child can recover for pain, suffering, scars, emotional distress and other similarly intangible losses until she turns 20, but the parent can recover the medical costs only if the lawsuit for those costs is brought within the 2 years. (Minnesota, Texas and a number of other states follow this rule.)

A few states have a period of limitations that might require both the child and his parents to file a lawsuit before the minor turns 18. For example, in Kansas a minor can bring an action until one year after he or she turns eighteen, but never more than eight years after the accident. (Kansas Statutes 60-515(a).) So a three-year-old would have to file suit by age 11 in Kansas.