When a child is hurt in Alabama, the injury claim belongs to the child, and a parent brings it on the child’s behalf. That one rule changes the deadline, the paperwork, and where any recovery ends up. Many parents learn it only after a deadline has passed.
The rules shift again depending on who caused the harm, because a claim against a driver, a public school, and a manufacturer each runs on a different clock. At Cartee & Lloyd Personal Injury Lawyers, we represent injured children and sort out which rules govern a family’s situation. You can ask our team to review what happened and identify the applicable deadlines.
State law treats an injured child as the injured party. The child holds the claim, the child is named in any lawsuit, and any recovery belongs to the child.
A minor cannot file a lawsuit alone. Under Rule 17(c) of the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure, a minor without an appointed representative may bring an action by next friend. This adult stands in for the child for procedural purposes.
Which parent may act depends on the family. Alabama Code § 6-5-390 gives married parents lawfully living together an equal right to commence an action for an injury to their minor child. When the parents are not living together, or legal custody has been vested in one parent or a third party, that custodian holds the exclusive right.
Parents pay the medical bills, so many assume those bills are theirs to recover. The case law complicates that assumption.
In Broughton v. Kilpatrick, the state Supreme Court held that a father who acts as next friend and claims medical expenses for his minor child waives, in the child’s favor, his own right to recover them. He is then estopped, meaning legally barred, from claiming the same costs separately, so how that claim is presented matters at the outset rather than at settlement.
Fault questions add a further layer, and the state applies a strict standard that varies with a child’s age. Reading how Alabama’s contributory negligence rule treats children is worthwhile before any conversation with an insurer.
Most parents hear that Alabama gives injury claims two years and stop there. That figure is a starting point, and the governing deadline turns on the type of claim and the identity of the defendant.
Alabama Code § 6-2-38(l) sets a two-year limit on an action for injury to the person. For a child, that period does not simply run out on the second anniversary of the injury.
Alabama Code § 6-2-8 suspends the limitation period for a person under 19 when the claim accrues, meaning when the right to bring the action arises. That person then has three years after the disability of minority ends.
Because Alabama Code § 26-1-1 sets the age of majority at 19, that window generally stays open until a child turns 22. No disability, however, extends the period beyond 20 years from accrual.
Several claim types run on their own schedule, and two can expire while a child is still young.
Medical claims carry a firm outer boundary. Alabama Code § 6-5-482 requires actions against health care providers within two years of the act or omission, and bars any action more than four years afterward. One exception protects the youngest patients: A minor under four years of age has until the eighth birthday to commence the action.
Product claims move faster still. Alabama Code § 6-5-502 requires a product liability action against an original seller within one year of the injury, and within 10 years after the product was first put to use. That section carries no minority exception of its own, so a child’s product claim needs a careful look rather than an assumption.
Some injuries do not end in recovery, and the law sets a short, distinct deadline for those cases. Under Alabama Code § 6-5-391, a parent may commence an action for the wrongful death of a minor. If both parents have died, or if they decline or fail to act within six months of the death, the personal representative may commence it instead.
Damages under that section pass according to the state’s laws of intestate succession, and one such action bars a second action for the same death.
The setting often decides which rules apply well before anyone reaches the question of fault. A fall on a city playground and the same fall at a private daycare follow different paths, because public defendants carry protections that private ones do not.
Alabama Code § 11-93-1 defines a governmental entity to include municipalities, counties, and public school boards that do not operate as functions of the State.
Alabama Code § 11-93-2 caps recovery against a governmental entity at $100,000 for bodily injury or death to one person in a single occurrence. An aggregate limit of $300,000 applies where more than two people have claims from one occurrence, and settlements are capped the same way.
Timing tightens as well. Alabama Code § 11-47-23 requires tort claims against a municipality to be presented within six months of accrual or they are barred, and six months passes quickly while a family is focused on treatment.
Private defendants face no statutory cap, though each setting brings its own rule. Alabama Code § 3-6-1 makes a dog owner liable for an unprovoked bite to a person who is where he or she has a legal right to be. That liability arises only on property the owner owns or controls, or immediately after the dog has pursued the person from it.
Our pages on swimming pool accident claims and defective product claims cover the duties owed in each setting.
Several common settings each carry their own governing rule:
Sorting out the setting early prevents applying the wrong deadline to the wrong defendant.
If you are unsure which rule governs, our team can work through the facts with you. Call Cartee & Lloyd Personal Injury Lawyers at 205-759-1554.
Alabama courts strictly oversee settlement funds paid to minor children to prevent financial mismanagement or parental diversion.
Under Alabama Code § 26-2A-6, an entity owing money to a minor can make direct payments to a parent, guardian, or probate judge without requiring a court-appointed conservator only under strict dollar caps:
Any settlement or jury verdict exceeding these statutory thresholds requires formal probate court approval, the appointment of a conservator, or the establishment of a court-supervised trust or structured annuity that remains locked until the child turns 19.
Under Alabama Code § 35-11-370, a hospital that treats an injured child within one week of an accident holds an automatic statutory lien against all settlement or judgment proceeds recovered from a third-party tortfeasor. To protect the family's net recovery, you must resolve these liens before settlement distributions. At Cartee & Lloyd Personal Injury Lawyers, we identify liens early so families are not caught off guard.
Early decisions carry weight, because deadlines and evidence both move quickly. A few actions matter more than the rest:
Handling these early keeps the options open. Parents who would rather not manage it alone can work with our Tuscaloosa child injury lawyer team while treatment continues.
Parents raise these questions when a child’s injury turns into a legal claim.
Tort claims against a municipality must be presented within six months of accrual, and missing that window bars the claim. We move quickly on any injury involving city property.
A minor under four years of age has until the eighth birthday to commence a medical liability action. We confirm a child’s exact age at the time of treatment before calculating any deadline.
When parents are not lawfully living together, the party holding legal custody has the exclusive right to commence the action. Our attorneys review custody orders early.
Recovery against a governmental entity is limited to $100,000 for injury or death to one person in a single occurrence. We look for additional defendants outside that limit.
State law permits payment to a minor without a conservator only up to $5,000 in a single payment. We first measure any offer against those limits.
No, because a product liability action against an original seller runs within one year of the injury and within 10 years of first use. We check that clock whenever a product is involved.
The hardest part of a child’s injury claim is often that every decision lands on a parent already managing appointments and missed school. At Cartee & Lloyd Personal Injury Lawyers, we carry that weight for families statewide.
Our founding attorneys have practiced here since 1992, and the firm brings more than 77 years of combined experience to injury claims. We are members of the Alabama State Bar and the American Association for Justice.
We handle children’s injury claims on a contingency fee basis, and we explain the deadlines, notice requirements, and court steps before a family decides anything. Every case begins with a free case evaluation.
Call 205-759-1554 or reach us through our contact page to talk about what happened to your child.
We listen to your story and understand your struggles. We handle the insurance companies and hire the experts and do the things necessary to win your case while you focus on going to the doctor and recovering from your injuries.
Through over 77 years of combined litigation experience, we have learned that the best way to make an insurance company pay you fairly for your damages is to be well prepared, fully investigate every detail, hire experts and prepare your case for trial even if most cases will settle without trial.
We know the law and have decades of experience in the courtroom and dealing with insurance companies. We use all of our resources to hire the experts necessary for trial, fully investigate, and pay for your medical records and litigation expenses so that you do not have to come out of pocket yourself while you are struggling to recover. We fight the big insurance companies for you and only get paid for our time and expenses if we recover for you.
Don’t fall for lawyer ads telling you Ai will tell you the value of your car wreck case or believe flashing dollars on a lawyer tv commercial. The real value of your case is what a judge or jury decides is the value of your case after hearing all of the law and evidence. An experienced personal injury lawyer will know the issues that affect the value of your case. We have over 77 years of combined litigation experience and we stand ready to take your case to trial if an insurance company refuses to fairly compensate you for your injuries and damages.
Your success matters to us. Since 1992, we have helped over 11,000 clients in Alabama and recovered millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts for our clients. We measure our success by helping you receive the justice and fairness that you deserve.
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