Settlements in injury compensation claims for children and young people under the age of 18 cannot be finalised until they have been approved by the court. This enables the court to ensure that any settlement that has been agreed on behalf of an injured child provides full and fair compensation for their injury and its consequences, based on the medical evidence and circumstances of their case. The requirement for court approval should be helpful in reassuring the child’s family that their child’s settlement has been properly valued, whilst providing the certainty of a valid discharge of the claim for the paying defendant. It also allows the court to ensure that the child’s compensation is correctly invested and protected and, if necessary, to order how compensation should be apportioned in claims involving more than one claimant. What is an infant approval hearing? An infant approval hearing is a court hearing which takes place at the conclusion of any medical negligence or personal injury claim in which a child will receive compensation. This short, non-adversarial type of court hearing must take place before settlement can be finalised in all cases involving a child’s injury, or where a child will receive compensation for their loss of dependency arising from the death of a close family member, such as a parent. The purpose of the infant approval hearing is to seek the court’s approval for the proposed settlement that has been agreed by those representing the child and the defendant. The legal representatives for the child (and their litigation friend) and for the defendant provide the judge with background information, medical experts’ reports and other important evidence, and answer any additional questions that the judge may ask about the case. The judge considers the evidence and, if satisfied that the proposed settlement is appropriate, approves the settlement and makes any additional orders that are needed before the conclusion of the case. Additional orders might be needed if compensation must be apportioned between multiple claimants including children in the case, or if an anonymity order is advisable to protect the privacy of a vulnerable claimant and their family. After approving the settlement the judge will order payment of the child’s compensation according to the terms of settlement. Depending on the child’s condition and best interests, this might involve payment of lump sum compensation to the child’s appointed Court of Protection deputy or into a personal injury trust to be invested and managed for the child, or into the Court Funds Office (to be invested for the child and released to them when they are 18). If the child’s settlement includes a periodical payment order (PPO), the order will also set out the arrangements for the periodical payments. The infant approval hearing is formal, but it is usually quite short and is focussed primarily on protecting the child’s interests whilst bringing the case to its final conclusion. How should we prepare for our child’s infant approval hearing? There is very little for the child’s family to do in preparation for the infant approval hearing. Your solicitor and barrister will have carried out all necessary preparations and will represent your child and your family at the hearing. Once an agreed settlement figure has been reached, in readiness for the approval hearing we instruct the barrister in your child’s case to provide a written advice for the court, setting out the key information about the claim, the agreed settlement terms and their reasons for recommending settlement on these terms. We also provide the court with a bundle of the key documents that the judge will want to see to understand the child’s current condition, the impact of their disability on their life, now and in the future, so that he or she can consider whether the agreed amount of compensation will meet the child’s future needs, which may include care, aids and equipment and therapies. Most infant approval hearings take place in person in a courtroom. The child’s litigation friend should be present in court for the hearing. In some cases, if possible, we may ask you to bring your child to the hearing, but this is not always necessary. We usually ask parents to bring their child’s birth certificate with them to the hearing, in case the judge asks to see it. If the child’s compensation is going to be paid into the Court Funds Office, then there may also be some paperwork to fill out for the court. In certain cases, on prior application and depending on the individual circumstances, the court may allow the child’s litigation friend to attend the hearing remotely instead of in person, but this remains entirely at the judge’s discretion. Will I need to give evidence at my child’s infant settlement approval hearing? An infant settlement approval hearing is not a trial and parents will not usually be asked to give evidence, but the judge may address the parents directly to ask straightforward questions about the child’s health and wellbeing, before approving the proposed settlement for the benefit of the child. The child’s barrister will introduce the case to the judge, talk through the issues in the case and the settlement terms, and answer any questions the judge may have. Our solicitors always attend our client’s infant settlement approval hearing to advise and support the family and represent the child as we secure the court’s approval for the settlement of their case. What happens after an infant approval hearing? If the judge approves your child’s settlement, the final order will be ‘sealed’ or stamped by the court and you will be sent a copy of the order. Your child’s compensation will be paid by the defendant according to the terms of the settlement order. These will have been discussed with you before and during settlement negotiations and during preparations for the approval hearing. In most of our cases which involve a severely injured child, a Court of Protection deputy will already have been appointed earlier in the case to manage the child’s interim payments and ensure that money is accessible to meet the child’s needs. They will remain in place to receive and manage lump sum or PPO payments and to support the child and their family after the claim has concluded. In other cases, the compensation must usually be paid into the Court Funds Office who manage the money until the child is 18. Whilst our support for our severely-injured child clients and their families often continues (through our deputyship and educational specialists) long after settlement, the approval hearing is the final formal step in the legal proceedings in a child’s medical negligence or personal injury claim. If your child has cerebral palsy or neurological disability as a result of medical negligence, or you have been contacted by HSSIB/MNSI or NHS Resolution, you can talk to a solicitor, free and confidentially, for advice about how to respond or make a claim by contacting us.
