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Texas Pediatric Injury Attorneys · 30+ Years

Fort Worth Child Injury Lawyer

When a child is hurt by negligence — in a car, at school, at daycare, at a playground, or by a defective product — Texas law gives the family powerful tools to recover full lifetime damages. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §16.001 tolls the statute of limitations during minority. Tex. Prop. Code Chapter 142 protects the child's settlement. We handle every step. Free consultation, no fee unless we win.

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Texas child injury law — quick answers

  • Statute of limitations? Tolled during minority under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §16.001 — child has until age 20 in most negligence cases.
  • TTCA notice? Still applies at time of incident (6 months, sometimes 90 days under district policy) — tolling does NOT extend governmental-entity notice.
  • Who sues? Parent under Tex. Family Code §151.001, or next friend / guardian ad litem under Tex. R. Civ. P. 44.
  • Settlement approval? Required under §142.005 for substantial minor's settlements. Guardian ad litem typically appointed.
  • Damages? Lifetime medical, lost earning capacity, pain and suffering, mental anguish, impairment, disfigurement; parent loss of consortium under Reagan v. Vaughn.
  • School district? Sovereign immunity under TTCA §101.051(b) — narrow vehicle-operation waiver.

Why Texas child injury cases require specialized representation

A Texas child injury case is not just a smaller version of an adult personal-injury case. The medical, financial, and legal frameworks all differ. Children sustain injuries that can permanently affect cognitive development, future earning capacity, and lifetime medical needs. A traumatic brain injury that an adult might fully recover from can have decades-long developmental consequences for a child. The damages calculation extends across an entire adult lifetime that has not yet begun.

Texas law recognizes these realities through several specialized protections. The statute of limitations is tolled during minority under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §16.001, giving a child until age 20 to file in most negligence cases. Minor's settlements are subject to court approval under Tex. Prop. Code Chapter 142 to protect the child from inadequate or improvident settlement decisions. Substantial settlements typically go into a court-supervised §142.005 management trust, a structured settlement, or a §1301 special needs trust when lifetime medical needs are involved.

North Texas families typically work with Cook Children's Medical Center (the largest pediatric trauma center in the region), Children's Health Dallas, Texas Health Resources pediatric facilities, JPS Health Network for trauma cases, and University Medical Center in Lubbock for West Texas families. Our case workups coordinate with the pediatric medical team, life-care planners with pediatric specialization, vocational experts who model long-term earning trajectories, and economists who calculate lifetime damages.

Types of Texas child injury cases we handle

Auto crashes with child passengers

Texas Transportation Code §545.412 requires child safety seats and seat belts. When other-driver negligence injures a child passenger, the case proceeds under standard Texas negligence law plus pediatric-specific damages.

School bus crashes

FWISD, Crowley, HEB ISD, Arlington ISD, Mansfield ISD school bus injuries. TTCA notice deadlines apply at time of incident even though child's own claim is tolled.

Daycare negligence

Supervision failures, transportation incidents, indoor and outdoor playground injuries at licensed daycare facilities. Texas Health and Human Services childcare licensing rules under 26 TAC Chapter 746 become relevant.

School injuries

Limited by school district sovereign immunity under TTCA §101.051(b). Negligent-employee claims under Texas Education Code §22.0511 may have personal exposure for the teacher, coach, or staff member.

Playground injuries

Premises liability under Wal-Mart Stores v. Reece for private playgrounds. Public playgrounds (City of Fort Worth, school district) implicate TTCA limits and notice deadlines.

Youth sports injuries

Concussion and traumatic brain injury cases under Texas Concussion Oversight Team statute (Tex. Educ. Code §38.151), coaching negligence, equipment defects.

Swimming pool drowning and near-drowning

Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 757 imposes pool safety standards. HOA, hotel, and apartment pool cases turn on fence, gate, and supervision compliance.

Dog bites

Tex. Health & Safety Code Chapter 822 governs dangerous dogs. Texas common-law follows the "one-bite" rule modified by §822.005 for known-dangerous dogs.

Defective product injuries

Defective toys, car seats, cribs, baby gates, swings. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Chapter 82 strict liability applies.

Texas child injury law — the framework

SOL tolling during minority (§16.001)

Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §16.001 tolls the limitations period during a minor's minority. The two-year §16.003 clock generally does not start until age 18.

TTCA notice (§101.101)

NOT tolled by minority — parents/guardians must perfect TTCA notice within six months of the incident (or shorter under school district policy).

Parent right to sue (Family Code §151.001)

Parents have standing to bring personal-injury claims on behalf of minor children. Next friend or guardian ad litem appointment under Tex. R. Civ. P. 44 in disputed-custody situations.

Minor settlement approval (§142.005)

Tex. Prop. Code §142.005 requires court approval and management-trust planning for substantial minor settlements. Guardian ad litem typically appointed.

Parent loss of consortium (Reagan)

Reagan v. Vaughn, 804 S.W.2d 463 (Tex. 1990) — Texas recognizes parental loss-of-consortium claims when a child is seriously injured.

School district immunity (TTCA §101.051(b))

Narrow waiver — typically only negligent vehicle operation. Non-vehicle school injuries often barred by sovereign immunity.

Modified comparative fault (§33.001)

51% bar. Texas courts apply specialized standards for children under age 14 — the "child's standard" of care looks to what a reasonable child of similar age, intelligence, and experience would do.

Attractive nuisance

Texas recognizes attractive-nuisance doctrine for child trespassers — property owners can be liable when an artificial condition foreseeably attracts children and creates an unreasonable risk.

Damages available in a Texas child injury case

Economic damages

  • Past and future medical expenses (§41.0105) — extending over the child's lifetime
  • Future loss of earning capacity — calculated across a full adult earning life
  • Future medical, therapy, and life-care planning
  • Home and educational accommodations
  • Parents' out-of-pocket costs (caregiver hours, lost work to attend medical appointments)

Non-economic damages

  • Past and future physical pain and suffering
  • Past and future mental anguish
  • Past and future physical impairment
  • Disfigurement
  • Loss of enjoyment of life
  • Parent loss of consortium (Reagan v. Vaughn)

Exemplary (punitive) damages

Under §41.003 — gross negligence cases. Particularly available in pool-drowning cases (failure to comply with pool-safety code), defective-product cases (known dangerous toy not recalled), and DWI crashes involving child passengers.

Wrongful death and survival

If a child does not survive the injury, Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Chapter 71 governs. Parents recover under §71.004. The §71.021 survival statute preserves the child's pre-death pain-and-suffering claim for the estate.

Related Texas injury resources

Common questions from Texas families with injured children

How long do I have to file a Texas child injury lawsuit?
Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §16.001 tolls the statute of limitations during a minor's minority — meaning the two-year clock in §16.003 generally does not start running until the child turns 18. So a child has until age 20 (two years after age 18) to file in most negligence cases. BUT this tolling does NOT apply to Texas Tort Claims Act notice requirements under §101.101 — if a governmental defendant is involved (school district, city, state agency), the parent or guardian still must provide notice within six months (or 90 days under school district policy) at the time of the incident. Talk to a lawyer immediately whenever a governmental defendant is involved.
Who can sue on a child's behalf in Texas?
Texas Family Code §151.001 gives parents the right to bring personal-injury claims on behalf of their minor children. In the case of disputed custody, divorced parents, or a deceased parent, the court will appoint a next friend or guardian ad litem under Tex. R. Civ. P. 44. We coordinate with the family-law process when custody issues complicate the personal-injury claim.
What types of child injury cases does PLG handle?
Auto accidents involving child passengers (Texas seatbelt and car-seat statutes under Tex. Transp. Code §545.412 apply), school bus crashes, school injuries under premises liability (with TTCA limits), daycare negligence including supervision failures, playground injuries (under premises liability with public-park considerations under TTCA), youth sports injuries (concussion / TBI), swimming pool drowning and near-drowning, dog bites (Tex. Health & Safety Code Chapter 822), and product-liability cases involving defective toys, car seats, cribs, or other children's products under Chapter 82.
What's different about damages in a Texas child injury case?
Damages typically include longer-term future-medical projections (a child's life expectancy and care trajectory extends decades), greater loss-of-earning-capacity calculations (children have full earning lifetimes ahead), and special non-economic categories — Texas allows parents to recover for loss of services and companionship of a minor child under common law. Loss-of-consortium claims for parents of injured children have been recognized in Texas under Reagan v. Vaughn, 804 S.W.2d 463 (Tex. 1990).
Does Texas require special handling for settlement of a child's claim?
Yes. Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 44 and Texas Property Code Chapter 142 require court approval of any minor's personal-injury settlement over a certain threshold. The court typically appoints a guardian ad litem to verify the settlement is in the child's best interest. Most substantial settlements go into a court-supervised structured settlement, a §142.005 management trust, or a §1301 special needs trust if the child has lifetime medical needs. We handle the §142 management trust process routinely.
What if a school district was involved?
School districts are governmental entities under the Texas Tort Claims Act. TTCA §101.051(b) provides a narrow waiver of sovereign immunity for school district liability — typically limited to negligent operation or use of motor vehicles (i.e., school bus crashes). For non-vehicle school injuries, statutory immunity may bar recovery against the district directly. We assess each case for immunity exposure at the outset. The negligent employee (teacher, coach, bus driver) may have personal exposure in some scenarios under Texas Education Code §22.0511.
Where are Texas child injury cases heard?
Most Tarrant County child-injury cases at the Tom Vandergriff Civil Courts Building, 100 N. Calhoun Street, Fort Worth. Probate Court approval may be required for minors' settlements under §142.005. Federal cases at N.D. Tex. Fort Worth Division. We handle pediatric cases statewide from our Fort Worth, Arlington, and San Antonio offices.
How much does it cost to hire Patterson Law Group?
Nothing up front. We take Texas child injury cases on contingency — no fees unless we recover. We advance investigation, expert (pediatric medical experts, life-care planners, vocational experts), and litigation costs. Free consultation, no obligation. Se habla español.

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