When a child is injured in a commercial truck collision, any settlement of the child’s claim is treated differently than a settlement involving an adult. Georgia law contains specific protections designed to ensure that settlement funds belonging to a minor are properly approved and safeguarded until the child reaches adulthood. These protections shape how settlements involving minors are structured.
Why minor settlements are treated differently
A minor in Georgia, a person under the age of 18, lacks the legal capacity to enter a binding contract, including a release of a legal claim. Because a release is a contract, a minor cannot personally give a valid, final release of a truck accident claim. Georgia law therefore provides a framework, found in Title 29 of the Georgia Code, that governs who may compromise a minor’s claim and when court approval and a conservator are required. The purpose of the framework is to ensure that the settlement is fair to the child and that the funds are protected.
The settlement tiers under O.C.G.A. Section 29-3-3
The central statute is O.C.G.A. Section 29-3-3, which establishes a tiered structure based on the size of the settlement. The statute distinguishes between the gross settlement and the net settlement. The gross settlement is the present value of all amounts paid or to be paid to settle the claim, including cash, litigation expenses, attorney’s fees, and amounts allocated to a structured settlement or similar arrangement. The net settlement is the gross settlement reduced by attorney’s fees, litigation expenses, legally enforceable liens paid from the proceeds, and the present value of amounts to be received by the minor after reaching the age of majority.
Under the statute as amended in recent years, three tiers apply. When the gross settlement is $25,000 or less, the natural guardian of the minor may compromise the claim and receive payment without becoming a conservator and without court approval. When the gross settlement is more than $25,000 but the net settlement is $25,000 or less, the settlement must be submitted for court approval, to the probate court if no lawsuit has been filed or to the court where the action is pending if one has, but no conservator is required. When both the gross settlement and the net settlement exceed $25,000, a conservator is required to compromise the claim and receive the funds, and the conservator must submit the settlement for court approval.
Because truck accident injuries to children are often serious and the associated settlements can be substantial, many truck accident settlements involving minors fall into the tier that requires both a conservator and court approval.
Court approval of the settlement
When court approval is required, the court reviews the proposed settlement to determine whether it is in the minor’s best interest. The court considers the nature and extent of the injury, the terms of the proposed settlement, the allocation of proceeds, the amount of attorney’s fees and litigation expenses, and any liens that will be paid from the recovery. A court-approved settlement, once entered, provides finality, which is one reason the process exists. Without proper approval, a purported settlement of a minor’s claim can lack the binding effect that the parties intend.
The role of a conservator
A conservator is a person appointed to manage the property of a minor. When the tiered structure of O.C.G.A. Section 29-3-3 requires a conservator, that person is responsible for receiving the settlement funds on the minor’s behalf and managing them in accordance with the duties imposed by Georgia’s guardianship and conservatorship law. The conservator’s authority is supervised, and Georgia law imposes obligations regarding how a minor’s funds are held, invested, and accounted for. The conservatorship continues until the minor reaches the age of majority, at which point the funds are turned over to the now-adult.
Structured settlements
A structured settlement is one common way that funds for an injured minor are arranged. Rather than paying the entire net recovery in a single lump sum, a structured settlement uses the settlement proceeds to fund future periodic payments, often through an annuity. The payments can be scheduled to begin or to increase after the minor reaches adulthood, and they can be designed to cover anticipated future needs such as education or, in cases of serious injury, ongoing medical and living expenses.
Structured settlements interact with the statutory definitions. Because the net settlement excludes the present value of amounts the minor will receive after reaching majority, allocating a portion of a recovery to deferred structured payments affects which statutory tier applies. Structured arrangements are also used because they protect the funds over time, reduce the risk that a large lump sum is exhausted, and can provide for the child’s needs in a manner aligned with when those needs are expected to arise. When a structured settlement is part of a minor’s settlement that requires court approval, the structure is presented to the court as part of the proposed terms.
Allocation of proceeds and liens
A minor’s truck accident settlement may also involve allocation issues. Where a parent has a separate claim, such as a claim for the medical expenses the parent paid on the child’s behalf, the recovery may be allocated between the parent’s claim and the child’s claim. Medical liens, including hospital liens and any health insurance subrogation interests, are addressed as part of determining the net settlement. The handling of these allocations and liens is part of what a court reviews when approval is required.
Conclusion
Georgia law protects minors injured in truck accidents through a structured framework centered on O.C.G.A. Section 29-3-3. That statute establishes tiers based on the gross and net settlement amounts, determining when court approval is required and when a conservator must be appointed to receive and manage the funds. Court approval ensures the settlement is in the child’s best interest, a conservator safeguards the funds until the child reaches adulthood, and structured settlements are frequently used to provide periodic future payments aligned with the child’s anticipated needs. These mechanisms together ensure that a minor’s recovery is properly approved, protected, and preserved until the child is legally able to manage it.
Disclaimer
This article is provided strictly for general educational and informational purposes. It is intended to explain how Georgia law works as a matter of public legal education, and it does not constitute legal advice, a legal opinion, or a recommendation about any particular course of action. Reading this article, or contacting the website on which it appears, does not create an attorney-client relationship between the reader and any law firm, attorney, or author.
The law changes over time. Statutes, regulations, court rules, and judicial decisions discussed here may have been amended, repealed, superseded, or reinterpreted after the date of publication, and citations to specific code sections or cases reflect the law only as it was understood when this article was written. The application of any legal principle also depends heavily on the specific facts and circumstances of an individual matter, and outcomes vary from case to case.
For these reasons, no one should rely on this article as a substitute for advice from a licensed Georgia attorney who can review the particular facts involved. The author and publisher make no warranty, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or applicability of the information provided, and disclaim any liability for any action taken or not taken based on this content.