mellow-newt-3445/10/2026

Accident at 15 wrecked my whole teenage years — now 17 and finally asking: do I even have a case?

I don't really know how to start this so I'm just gonna word-vomit and hope someone gets it.

Two years ago I was a passenger in a crash that should've been routine but wasn't. I was 15. The other driver ran a light and hit us hard enough that I ended up airlifted. I fractured my hip and pelvis, spent weeks in a rehab facility learning to walk again, and the nerve damage in my left leg still hasn't fully resolved. My doctors keep changing what they tell me about whether it ever will.

Beyond the physical stuff — I developed pretty severe anxiety and what my psychiatrist eventually diagnosed as PTSD. I couldn't ride in a car without a panic attack for over a year. I missed so much school I had to repeat a grade, which was humiliating, and I lost all my friends basically because I just... disappeared from normal life. I used to play club soccer and that's completely gone now.

My parents helped me handle some of the early insurance stuff but honestly I think they just wanted it to be over and accepted something small. I'm not sure what was signed or what it means for me going forward since I was a minor.

Now I'm close to turning 18 and people keep telling me the clock matters — like there's a deadline based on my age specifically. Is that real? And does what I went through actually qualify for compensation or does it need to be even more serious than this? I feel like I'm underselling it but also I don't want to waste anyone's time.

Anyone who's been through the claims process — especially as a minor — please talk to me.

8 replies

Most helpful first

quiet-heron-8895/10/2026
Not legal advice, but I want to flag something important: the fact that you were a minor when this happened is genuinely significant in most states. Statutes of limitations for minors often don't start running until you turn 18 — meaning your clock may be starting now, not two years ago. That's the good news. The bad news is that 'clock' is real and it moves fast once it starts. Whatever your parents signed may or may not bind you depending on jurisdiction and whether a court approved it. Please talk to a PI attorney before your birthday if you can — many do free consults.
- quiet-mole-6005/10/2026
  On the minor settlement question — in most places, any settlement involving a minor has to be approved by a court to be valid and binding on the minor. If your parents settled without court approval, there's a real argument that it doesn't bind you. A lawyer can pull those documents and figure out exactly what was signed and whether it holds. That's one of the first things they'd look at.
genuine-vole-9185/10/2026
The part about your parents settling early hit me. Same thing kind of happened in my family — everyone just wanted the stress gone and didn't realize what the long-term stuff would look like. By the time I understood what I'd actually lost — career stuff, health stuff — the decisions had already been made. You're smart to be asking questions now before anything else gets locked in.
- kind-crow-5585/10/2026
  I'm not gonna pretend I know anything about the legal side but I just want to say — losing soccer, losing your friend group, repeating a grade — that stuff is real loss. You're not overselling anything. You were a kid and this derailed years of your life. That matters.
- candid-wren-3145/10/2026
  Short answer: yes you have a case, yes the age thing is real and urgent, and no you are not wasting anyone's time. Go get a free consult with a personal injury attorney this week. Bring whatever paperwork your parents have, your medical records if you can get them, and just talk to someone. You'll know a lot more after one conversation.
clever-lynx-2715/10/2026
Please do not talk to the other driver's insurance company alone. Like, not even a casual call to 'just ask a question.' They are trained to get you to say things that minimize your claim and they absolutely will use the fact that you're young. Everything goes through a lawyer first, full stop.
genuine-kestrel-3715/10/2026
Nerve damage that's still unresolved two years out is serious — I just want you to know that's not nothing, and it's not you being dramatic. Depending on how it progresses, that can affect your ability to work, your mobility long-term, everything. Make sure every symptom is documented with your doctors regularly. Those records become your evidence. Don't downplay anything at appointments either — describe your worst days, not your average ones.
careful-dove-0035/10/2026
I used to work claims and I'll be honest with you: when a file involves a minor, a long recovery, and documented mental health treatment, those are all things adjusters flag as 'high exposure.' They know the value is there. The question is always whether the claimant has representation or not — unrepresented people almost always get less, sometimes dramatically less. The math on this is not subtle.