Child injured in North Texas (2): why the standard of care is different
FOX 4 reported a collision in which a child was hurt in North Texas on May 29, 2026. Someone was killed. We had no involvement in it and we are not going to speculate about the facts. What we can do is set out the legal questions an incident of this kind raises in Texas, because families dealing with one are usually working it out from scratch at the worst possible moment.
Cases involving children are analysed differently
Texas does not hold a young child to an adult’s standard of care. What counts as ordinary caution for an adult is not the measure applied to a child, and very young children may not be capable of negligence at all as a matter of law.
That matters because the reflexive argument in these cases — that the child ran out, or was not being watched — carries far less weight than the person making it usually assumes.
Where the duty sits
- Drivers, who are expected to anticipate children near schools, parks, residential streets and stopped buses, and to moderate speed accordingly.
- Property owners, under doctrines that address hazards attractive to children who cannot appreciate the danger — pools, equipment, unsecured structures.
- Schools and districts, where supervision or transportation is at issue, subject to governmental immunity limits.
Deadlines work differently too
Limitations periods for a minor’s own claim are generally tolled — the clock does not run in the usual way while the injured person is a child. But this exception is narrower than families assume, and it does not extend the separate claims parents may hold, nor does it extend the short notice deadlines that apply when a governmental entity is involved.
Settlements for a child are supervised
A minor’s settlement generally requires court approval, and funds are protected rather than handed over. That is a safeguard, not an obstacle, and it is one reason these cases are not resolved over the phone.
When someone does not survive
Texas limits wrongful death claims to a defined group — the surviving spouse, the children, and the parents of the person who died. They may file individually or together. Siblings cannot bring a wrongful death claim, however close they were. If no family member has filed within three months of the death, the estate’s representative may do so.
Two claims usually arise from one death. The wrongful death claim belongs to the family and covers what they lost: financial support, companionship, mental anguish, lost inheritance, household services. The survival claim belongs to the estate and covers what the person suffered before death, along with medical and funeral expenses.
Where the conduct exceeded ordinary negligence, Texas also permits exemplary damages, subject to a higher burden of proof and statutory limits.
Fault is a percentage, and one number ends the case
Texas divides responsibility across everyone who contributed. Recovery is reduced by the injured person’s share, and eliminated entirely if that share exceeds 50 percent.
That arithmetic is why some portion of blame gets attached to the injured person in nearly every claim, including ones where liability looks settled. It is not an opinion an adjuster holds; it is a strategy with a defined financial payoff.
It is answered with evidence rather than argument — vehicle data, damage geometry, sight-line measurement, signal timing, independent witnesses, and reconstruction where the numbers are genuinely in dispute.
What to do now
- Get medical attention and keep going — gaps in treatment become the argument that something else caused the injury.
- Ask that any vehicle involved not be repaired or sold until it has been inspected.
- Write down who stopped, what they saw, and anything said at the scene.
- Decline a recorded statement to the other side’s insurer until you have advice.
- Keep every document in one place: the report number, bills, mileage, days missed.
Reporting that prompted this post
We write about incidents reported in the local press to explain the legal questions they raise. We don’t represent anyone involved unless we say so.
Our Garland injury attorneys handle matters like this every day. The case review is free.
This post is general information about Texas law, not legal advice about your situation, and reading it doesn’t make us your attorneys. Every case turns on its own facts.
Our Recent Post
