Chula Vista Children Accident & Injury Law Firm | CA Child Injury

Special Rules when a Child is Partly At Fault for his or her own Injuries

In terms of assessing a minor child’s own contributions to an accident or injury, children five years of age and younger cannot, as a matter of law, be found negligent. Older children will be held to a standard of care of children of a similar age.  Thus, children are not normally held to adult standards of conduct but must use that degree of care ordinarily exercised by children of like age, intelligence and experience.  This is a question of fact, and a fact finder (judge or jury) can help to determine this point of issue.  If a child is found to be partly negligent for causing his or her own injury, the award will be reduced by a percentage, or apportionment, of their own negligence. For instance, if a jury awards a child $100,000 for their injury, but found the child 75% responsible, the award will be reduced to $25,000.

Mark C. Blane is a San Diego Child Injury/Accident Attorney and the managing lawyer of the Law Offices of Mark C. Blane, a San Diego, California Personal Injury Law Office dedicated to representing families of minor children injured due to the negligence of others. If you or a loved one, who is a minor child, has been injured or killed in a child accident in San Diego, please order your free copy of Mr. Blane's book, The 10 Secrets You Need To Know About Your Injury Case, BEFORE You Call A Lawyer. It is full of helpful information that will help you protect your legal rights and it normally sells for $16.95.  However, it is free to all California residents, or those injured in a California accident.