When a child is injured due to someone else's actions — in a traffic accident, on the schoolyard, through a medical error, or during sports — parents face a lot at once. Besides the emotional impact and caring for the child's recovery, there is often a legal track too: establishing liability and claiming compensation. Personal injury claims involving minors follow several special rules that don't apply to adults.
Who acts on behalf of the child?
A minor cannot independently litigate or negotiate a claim. This is done by the legal representative, usually a parent with custody. For settlements above a certain amount, approval from the cantonal court is also required, to ensure the arrangement genuinely serves the child's interests.
Why caution is needed with early settlement
The final medical outcome of a child's injury is often only clear after years, especially with injuries affecting growth — fractures near growth plates, scars that grow with the child, or brain injury whose effects only become visible at school age (concentration problems, learning delays). For this reason, cases involving children often wait longer before determining the final medical situation, request an advance payment for ongoing costs without finalising the case, or use an interim dispute procedure for contested points.
Settling too quickly and definitively is risky: once compensation is finalised and the case closed, a child usually cannot revisit later, more serious consequences.
Limitation period: special protection for minors
An important special rule applies: the five-year limitation period does not run against a child while they are a minor. This means that if the parents take no action during the child's minority, the child, upon turning 18, still has five more years to file a claim themselves — potentially until age 23 for an injury sustained at age 5. This is an important safety net, but no reason to wait: the sooner evidence is gathered, the stronger the case.
Why is compensation for pain and suffering often higher for children?
Courts and insurers weigh factors that often weigh more heavily for children: a longer period of experiencing the consequences given remaining life expectancy, impact on development (school career, social development, future career prospects), scarring that a child must live with for life affecting self-image during puberty, and psychological injury such as anxiety disorders, which occur relatively often in children.
Common situations
Traffic accidents involving child pedestrians or cyclists, school accidents, medical errors (e.g. oxygen deprivation at birth), dog bites, and injuries from defective playground equipment.
What can you claim on behalf of your child?
Pain and suffering compensation, uncovered medical costs, tutoring or educational support, future damages such as reduced earning capacity, and costs for parental care during recovery.
Arslan & Arslan Advocaten helps you
At Arslan & Arslan Advocaten we guide parents through claiming compensation for their child, with special attention to the long term, working on a no cure, no pay basis.
Call 070 4500 300 or visit arslan.nl for a free assessment of your child's case.