§ 8.01-36.Joinder of action of tort to infant with action for recovery of expenses incurred thereby and claim for recovery of expenses by infant.

Chapter 3. Actions · Article 3. Injury to Person or Property · Last amended 2021 · Last verified July 16, 2026

In one sentenceGoverns how a minor’s personal injury suit relates to a parent’s right to recover medical expenses — pre-2013 claims could be joined or tried together, while for causes of action on or after July 1, 2013 the cure expenses become the infant’s own damages and the paying parent gets a lien on the recovery instead.

Full Text of § 8.01-36

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A. Where there is pending any action by an infant plaintiff against a tort-feasor for a personal injury, where the cause of action accrued prior to July 1, 2013, any parent or guardian of such infant, who is entitled to recover from the same tort-feasor the expenses of curing or attempting to cure such infant from the result of such personal injury, may bring an action against such tort-feasor for such expenses, in the same court where such infant's case is pending, either in the action filed in behalf of the infant or in a separate action. If the claim for expenses be by separate action, upon motion of any party to either case, made to the court at least one week before the trial, both cases shall be tried together at the same time as parts of the same transaction. But separate verdicts when there is a jury trial shall be rendered, and the judgment shall distinctly separate the decision and judgment in the separate causes of action.

In the event of the cases being carried to the Court of Appeals, which may be done if there be the jurisdictional amount in either case, they shall both be carried together as one case and record, but the Court of Appeals shall clearly specify the decision in each case, separating them in the decision to the extent necessary to do justice among the parties. If an appeal is taken from the judgment of the Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court, in matters in which it grants the petition for appeal, shall clearly specify the decision in each case, separating them in the decision to the extent necessary to do justice among the parties.

B. For causes of action that accrue on or after July 1, 2013, the past and future expenses of curing or attempting to cure an infant of personal injuries proximately caused by a tort-feasor are damages recoverable by an infant in a cause of action against the tort-feasor and, if applicable to the infant's cause of action, are subject to the limitation on damages in § 8.01-581.15. Any parent or guardian of such infant who has paid for or is personally obligated to pay for past or future expenses to cure or attempt to cure the infant shall have a lien and right of reimbursement against any recovery by the infant up to the amount the parent or guardian has actually paid or is personally obligated to pay. The right to reimbursement of any parent or guardian shall accrue upon the first tender of funds of any recovery from a tort-feasor to the infant. Court approval of the infant settlement shall release party defendants from all claims for past or future expenses of curing or attempting to cure the infant.

Nothing in this section shall relieve a parent of the obligation to pay for the medical expenses of curing or attempting to cure the infant as such obligation exists under current law.

End

Plain-English Summary

Subsection A covers causes of action that accrued before July 1, 2013. A parent or guardian entitled to recover the expenses of curing an injured infant from the same tortfeasor could bring that claim in the same court as the infant’s own suit, either combined with it or in a separate action tried alongside it on motion made at least a week before trial. Even when tried together, the two claims kept separate verdicts and a judgment that distinctly separated the two causes of action, and on appeal the two cases traveled together as one record while the appellate court kept the decisions in each case distinct.

Subsection B changes the framework for causes of action accruing on or after July 1, 2013. The infant’s own cause of action against the tortfeasor now includes the past and future expenses of curing the injury as an element of the infant’s own recoverable damages, subject to the medical-malpractice damages cap in § 8.01-581.15 where that cap applies. A parent or guardian who paid or is obligated to pay those expenses gets a lien and a right of reimbursement against the infant’s recovery, up to the amount paid or owed, and that right accrues as soon as the infant receives the first payment from the tortfeasor. Court approval of an infant’s settlement releases the defendants from any further claim for past or future cure expenses.

Whichever regime applies, the statute makes clear that nothing in it relieves a parent of the separate legal obligation to pay for the infant’s medical care.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a parent and an injured child combine their claims against the same at-fault party into one lawsuit?

For causes of action before July 1, 2013, yes — the parent’s expense claim could be brought in the same action as the infant’s suit, or in a separate action tried together with it. For causes of action on or after that date, the infant’s own suit already includes the cure expenses as an element of the infant’s damages.

What happened on appeal when the infant’s case and the parent’s expense claim were tried together?

Under the pre-2013 framework, the two cases traveled to the Court of Appeals or Supreme Court together as a single record, but the appellate court had to clearly separate its decision in each case to the extent necessary to do justice between the parties.

How did the law change for causes of action arising on or after July 1, 2013?

The infant’s own cause of action now includes past and future cure expenses as recoverable damages, and a parent who paid or is obligated to pay those expenses gets a lien and reimbursement right against the infant’s recovery rather than a separate cause of action.

If a parent paid the child’s medical bills, how does the parent get reimbursed under the current law?

The parent has a lien and a right of reimbursement against the infant’s recovery, up to the amount the parent paid or is obligated to pay, and that right accrues once the infant receives the first payment from the tortfeasor.

Does a settlement of the child’s claim wipe out the parent’s obligation to pay for future medical care?

No. Court approval of the infant’s settlement releases the defendants from further claims for cure expenses, but the statute expressly preserves the parent’s own existing legal obligation to pay for the infant’s medical care.

Amendment History

Code 1950, § 8-629; 1954, c. 333; 1973, c. 277; 2013, cc. 551, 689; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 489.

Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the Code of Virginia, published by the Code of Virginia, Virginia Division of Legislative Automated Systems. Last verified July 16, 2026. · Official source

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