Fighting an Insurance Company When Your Child is Seriously Injured in a Car Crash

 Posted on February 09, 2026 in Car Accidents

When a child’s life is at risk because of a serious car crash, parents often spend days or weeks in the hospital watching their child suffer through surgeries, treatments, and painful recovery. The last thing anyone in this situation should have to worry about is fighting with an insurance company that refuses to pay what your child needs and deserves.

Unfortunately, that is exactly what many families face in 2026. Insurance companies are in the business of making money, not helping children. They will use every trick in the book to minimize what they pay, even when a child faces a lifetime of medical care and disability. Their tactics are predictable, calculated, and often shameful.

If your child is seriously hurt in a car crash, you need help from a Morris car accident lawyer who knows the system inside and out. At Carlson Law Group, P.C., we are ready to help you with personalized service and a sincere commitment to making this process easier during a hard time. 

Why Do Insurance Companies Fight Claims for Injured Children?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of injury-related death and disability among children. Children have their entire lives ahead of them. If a crash leaves a child with a traumatic brain injury, spinal cord damage, or permanent disability, the medical costs over their lifetime can reach millions of dollars. 

Insurance companies know these numbers, and they do everything possible to avoid paying them. For example:

• They might claim your child's injuries are not as serious as your doctors say. 
• They might try to get recorded statements from you immediately after a crash, when you are still in shock and do not fully understand your child's injuries. 
• They could try to argue that your child would have had problems anyway, even without the crash. 
• They might pressure you to accept a quick settlement before you know the full extent of your child's needs.
• They might delay the claim process, hoping you become desperate for money and accept less. 
• They may even suggest you are exaggerating your child's suffering to get more money.

One common tactic is to challenge the need for future medical care. Your child's doctor may recommend ongoing therapy, surgeries, or specialized equipment. The insurance company may bring in their own medical professionals who claim those treatments are unnecessary or excessive. This is particularly harmful for children, who cannot speak for themselves about their pain and limitations.

These tactics are not new. Insurance companies count on parents being overwhelmed, exhausted from caring for an injured child, and too worn down to fight back. This isn’t right, and you shouldn’t have to fight them on your own. 

What Damages Can You Recover When Your Child is Injured in a Car Crash?

Insurance companies fight hard against expensive claims for injured children because they know that Illinois law is on your side. 

Under Illinois law, you can recover both economic and non-economic damages when your child is injured due to someone else's negligence. For children with serious injuries, these damages include all medical expenses both past and future. 

You can also recover damages for your child's pain and suffering, loss of normal life, disfigurement, and any permanent disability. When a child is injured, these losses extend over their entire life. A 10-year-old child with a spinal cord injury faces 70 or more years of living with that injury. The compensation must account for all of those years.

Parents can recover for their own losses as well, including medical expenses they paid and lost wages from missing work to care for their injured child.

Contact a Grundy County, IL Personal Injury Lawyer Today

If your child was seriously injured in a car crash, you need an attorney who will fight as hard for your child as you do. At Carlson Law Group, P.C., our Morris, IL car crash injury attorney brings almost 25 years of legal experience as a former prosecutor and judge to every case. 

We provide the careful one-on-one attention you deserve while offering the services and tools of a large firm. We also offer free consultations. Call Carlson Law Group, P.C. at 815-710-3700 today to go over your child's case.