Massachusetts Personal Injury and Workers' Compensation Law Blog
Many times young children are the victims of a Massachusetts personal injury accident. Minors in Massachusetts, like adults, are required to conduct themselves reasonably. But, minors in Massachusetts are not held to the same duty of care as adults are. Rather, minors are required to conform their conduct to that of a child of like age and experience. What that really means is that it is easier for minors to recover personal injury compensation than it is for an adults in Massachusetts.
In fact, very young children (younger than 10 years of age) are considered to be of "tender years" and thus incapable of acting negligently. Therefore, if your child is making a claim for personal injuries stemming from a Massachusetts accident, do not let the insurance adjuster tell you that your child acted negligently, or was somehow at fault for the accident. Tell the adjuster that since your child is so young, he/she is, under Massachusetts law, incapable of acting negligently. This will give you leverage when negotiating your child’s personal injury claim with the insurance company that insures the party that injured your child.