If your child suffered injury in an accident that wasn’t their fault, you can bring a personal injury claim on their behalf. In our experience, parents or guardians are often traumatised by the experience and need extra care and support when navigating a child injury and accident claim.
At Mooneerams, our personal injury solicitors are experts in securing compensation for injured children. We’ll take the time to get to know you and your child and try to put your family at ease following what will have been a hugely traumatic experience for you all.
We’ll provide clear and straightforward legal advice to help guide you through the child personal injury claims process. Our empathetic and award-winning personal injury team will be with you every step of the way.
We’ll ensure your child receives the compensation they deserve and help you gain access to the very best rehabilitation services so your child can start on the road to recovery as soon as possible.
What is a child injury and accident claim?
Suffering the odd scrape and bruise goes hand-in-hand with being a youngster. However, should they suffer more serious injuries and someone else is to blame, your child may be entitled to compensation.
Examples of some common causes of child injury and accident claims include:
Children are vulnerable road users and are recognised as such in the Highway Code. Their youthful impulsiveness, lack of road awareness, and low stature combine to place those aged under 16 at an increased risk of being knocked over on the roads.
Worse still, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), when a child gets knocked over, their softer heads make them more susceptible to traumatic brain injuries than adults involved in a similar accident.
An analysis by road safety charity Brake revealed that every 19 days in Britain, the equivalent of an entire class of children is killed or seriously injured on the roads. It’s a pretty worrying statistic, but you can significantly reduce the risk by taking sensible precautions, such as teaching your child good road safety and accompanying them on journeys where necessary.
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Accidents at school
School-age children spend most of their time at school, so it’s unsurprising that school accidents are relatively common. Luckily, most are minor incidents and warrant nothing more than a plaster and some TLC. Sometimes, though, school accidents can be more serious.
Slips, trips, and falls on wet floors, sports-related accidents, and incidents involving poorly maintained equipment are just some of the common issues that may occur during the school day, which may give rise to a child injury and accident claim.
Trips to the local park or playground are commonplace outings for most young families. They offer a convenient, free way for little ones to get out in the fresh air and burn off some energy.
Minor bumps and bruises are commonplace in a playground environment and can usually be remedied with a quick wipe-down and a cuddle from a parent. However, more serious accidents resulting in broken bones, lacerations, and even brain injuries are not unheard of. These are rare and are often due to issues beyond your control, like faulty or inappropriate equipment.
Can my child make a personal injury compensation claim?
Your child can only make a personal injury claim once they reach 18. However, you can make a claim on their behalf if you are their parent or guardian.
If you don’t bring a claim on your child’s behalf, they can do so themselves once they turn 18, provided they do so within three years of their 18th birthday.
It’s sensible to bring claims for compensation for injured children as soon after the accident as possible. At that stage, the circumstances of the accident are still fresh in the minds of you, the child and any witnesses.
How do I make a personal injury claim on behalf of my child?
When you bring a personal injury claim for your child, you take on the role of their litigation friend. This means you will make crucial decisions on their behalf, such as accepting a settlement offer. The child injury accident claims process is essentially the same as when the party bringing the claim is an adult, with two key exceptions.
Firstly, if you decide to accept a settlement offer on behalf of your child, the Court will want to check that the settlement terms are reasonable before it is finalised.
Secondly, your child’s compensation will be held in trust for them until they reach 18.
Very few child injury and accident claims go to trial. Some are settled before a claim is even issued.
Even if we have to issue a claim in your child’s case, the chances of you and your child ending up in Court are slim. However, in the case of child brain injury claims or other catastrophic injury matters, multi-million-pound settlements are not uncommon and sometimes matters end up before a judge where the amount of compensation remains in dispute.
As already mentioned, settlements in all child injury accident claims must be approved by the Court.
How much compensation will my child receive?
Compensation in child injury and accident claims is calculated the same way as in other personal injury claims. The legal term for compensation is ‘damages’, and there are two types: general and special.
General damages compensate your child for the pain, suffering, and loss of amenity the accident caused. The amount of general damages your child can expect to receive depends on a number of factors, including the nature and severity of their injuries and how they impact your child’s daily life.
Special damages cover any financial losses stemming from the accident. For example, if you need to alter your home to accommodate your child’s needs, you can include the cost of making those alterations in your child’s special damages claim.
If your child can’t attend school because of their injuries, you can claim for the cost of a private tutor.
Other special damages include any ongoing medical treatment your child requires and associated travel costs.
You can also include a claim for any losses you have sustained as their parent or guardian.
For instance, if you had to take time off work to look after your child, you can include your loss of earnings in the special damages claim. It’s advisable to discuss the potential financial implications likely to be thrown up by the accident and your child’s needs at the earliest possible stage with your child’s accident solicitors.
No two damages awards are the same. Our personal injury solicitors are experts in assessing how much compensation may be awarded in any given situation. However, we will only be able to advise you with a degree of certainty about the amount of damages you can expect to recover once all medical evidence has been obtained and the financial aspects of the claim become clearer.
When will my child receive their compensation?
Your child will not receive compensation immediately after the claim settles. The paying party (the insurers of the person who caused the accident) will pay the agreed amount to the Court Funds Office, and it will be held in an account called the ‘Special Account’ until the child turns 18.
If you’d like to access your child’s compensation sooner, we can ask the Court to release some of the money early. You’ll need to have a good reason for requesting the money, such as your child having specific medical or educational needs that need paying for.
Mooneerams can advise you on the likelihood of the Court agreeing to your request and the evidence you can put forward in support.
How will I pay for my child’s personal injury claim?
At Mooneerams, we understand how precious your children are and how incredibly upsetting it is when they are hurt. The last thing you need is the added worry of how you’ll fund a child injury and accident claim.
We run child injury and accident claims on a no win, no fee basis, so we are only paid if the claim succeeds. Rather than worrying about legal costs, you can concentrate on helping your child recover. While you do that, we’ll do all we can to hold those responsible for the accident accountable and secure the maximum compensation for your child.
