Can a minor sign something saying they are not injured?
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Can a minor sign something saying they are not injured?
I was in a bus accident on a school field trip when I was 16. EMTs came but no
one was checked unless they asked to be, and our field trip sponsors school
teachers had as all write on a notebook piece of paper ‘My name is , I am
in seat and I am not injured.’ if we believed we weren’t injured, but we were
young, how were we supposed to know? They did not contact our parents, before
asking to write this out or after. Is this ‘legal’ since I was a minor? Does this
release the school from liability? I have a neck injury resulting from the
accident that is now just starting to really cause problems 2 years later.
Wondering if I can do anything about it, from a legal point of view.
Asked on August 12, 2016 under Personal Injury, Florida
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
No, a minor cannot waive his or her claim for injuries--only a parent or legal guardian can. And the statement would not consitute a waiver, anyway, since it was not stating that you would not sue--it was simply making a factual assertion which, at most, would be held to be true as of that moment *based on what you knew them.* Since many injuries (or at least their extent) only become obvious later, saying you were not hurt at moment X does not preclude you from suing for injuries discovered later, at time Y. At most, it may be evidence that you were not injured--something the other side, if you sue, can point to to undercut the evidence of your injury, which, based on the other evidence of the existence or lack of an injury, may or not be persuasive to some degree--but it is not a dispositive legal waiver or abandonment of rights.
In your state, you have four (4) years to bring a personal injury suit, so you should still be in time. It would be worth your while to consult with a personal injury attorney about the case. Good luck.
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