Accident claims for children and teenagers

Children and teenagers who suffer severe, traumatic injuries can be left with lifelong disability which will affect their ability to learn, work, look after themselves and live independently. They may find it harder to walk or get around, to behave appropriately, or communicate clearly with others, and have difficulty making friends or engaging in social, sports or leisure activities.

When the child or teenager’s injury was caused by an accident which was another person or organisation’s fault, they may be entitled to compensation. As soon as a child’s family contacts us after a devastating injury, we can begin to make a difference. Our child injury specialists secure access to timely, personalised treatment and rehabilitation to maximise recovery, and relieve the financial strain on the family with early funding for essential specialist equipment, therapies and care.

We understand the needs of families as they go through the heart-breaking process of coming to terms with their child’s injury. We use the claims process to ensure that the child receives their full entitlement to compensation, but we provide so much more by way of practical help and support along the way. Whether the injury arose in infancy, early childhood or teenage years, we help families meet their child’s immediate needs, whilst securing the highest compensation settlements to provide for their future.

Compensation claims for children with , acquired brain injury (ABI) or other disabling injuries, such as spinal injury, amputation or blindness, need skilled handling by specialist solicitors if the child is to receive the compensation they deserve.

A child or teenager may be entitled to claim substantial compensation if they suffered severe injury in an accident which was caused by the negligence of another person, such as a driver, or organisation.

Child and teenager compensation claims often arise from injuries caused by accidents:

• on the road, as:
  • passengers in vehicles (cars, coaches, buses, taxis, trains);
  • pedestrians;
  • cyclists, or a passenger on a bicycle;
  • riders or pillion passengers on motorbikes, mopeds or e-scooters;
  • skateboarders or rollerbladers hit by vehicles.
• at school, on school trips, at college or during child-care;
• at leisure facilities or during supervised sport;
• as a result of unsafe buildings, paths or public facilities (e.g. park playgrounds);
• abroad or on holiday;
• caused by defective or unsafe products or equipment;
• caused by unlawful or criminal behaviour.

For injuries to children caused by medical negligence, please contact our medical negligence team.

Our personal injury solicitors specialise in obtaining maximum compensation and rehabilitation for clients who have suffered severe, permanent injury and disability.

Our clients have usually suffered one or more of the following injuries:

• head injury, brain injury or skull fracture;
• spinal cord injury (paraplegia, tetraplegia);
• major trauma or multiple injury;
• amputation;
• facial fractures or maxillofacial injury;
• severe burns or scalds;
• scarring and disfigurement;
• sensory injury, such as blindness, deafness;
• PTSD and psychological injury.

We recover compensation for ‘secondary victims’, usually parents or other close family members, who suffer PTSD from witnessing their child’s death or severe traumatic injury.

We also recover compensation for bereaved children who have a financial claim for loss of dependency arising from their parent’s death in an accident.

The amount of compensation that can be claimed for a child or teenager who has been injured in an accident will depend on the severity of their injury and disability and its impact on their life. Claims for children or teenagers with severe injury and disability often include compensation for:

• pain, suffering and disability;
• rehabilitation – often funded directly by the defendant’s insurer;
• case management and costs of care, including extra care provided by parents;
• additional costs of suitable accommodation or home adaptations;
• specialist vehicles, equipment, assistive technology (IT);
• prosthetic limbs (after amputation);
• medical or surgical costs;
• therapies:
  • occupational therapy (OT);
  • physiotherapy;
  • speech and language therapy (SALT);
  • hydrotherapy;
• psychological counselling;
• SEN support with special educational needs;
• financial loss, such as future loss of earnings and pension;
• Court of Protection deputyship costs.

Where a bereaved child’s claim arises from the death of a parent, they may be entitled to compensation for their loss of dependency on their parent’s income or ‘services’ (such as childcare).

We understand that it can be very difficult to come to terms with a child’s serious injury which happens whilst the child was in the care of a member of the family or a friend. We approach these cases supportively and with compassion, and we focus on obtaining the child’s entitlement to compensation, working with parents to ensure that the injured child’s needs are met.

When a child is seriously injured, their rehabilitation, recovery and provision for any lifelong needs caused by their injury should take priority over concerns about the discomfort of bringing a claim against the family member or friend. In our experience of these cases, most families recognise that their child’s needs can best be met with the help of rehabilitation and compensation, and the importance of doing what’s right for the child.

We have helped many families obtain the compensation and support that they need for their child in sensitive or challenging claims arising from accidents where the child or teenager was severely injured:

• whilst a passenger in a car or on a bike driven or ridden by a family member:
• in a cycling accident but was not wearing a helmet;
• from being shaken as a baby whilst in someone else’s care;
• whilst car-surfing or risk-taking in or on a friend’s vehicle;
• as a pedestrian hit by a family or friend’s car, e.g. on a driveway at home;
• due to an unsafe path, garden or building at a friend or family member’s home.

Our solicitors are highly experienced in handling emotionally sensitive claims. We explore all possible causes for an accident or injury to find the best way forward for the claim. The defendant’s insurance company usually handles the claim and takes financial responsibility for paying the child’s compensation, even if the child or a member of their family was partly to blame. We act for the child and their best interests, but do so with sensitivity to the overall situation. We remain focussed on getting the child the help that they need from the defendant’s insurers, whilst supporting the family through what can be a very difficult time.

If the main cause of the accident was somebody else’s negligence, in most cases, we can still recover compensation for the child or teenager’s serious injuries, even if their own actions made them partly to blame. Where our client’s actions or behaviour contributed to the cause of the accident, or increased their injury, their compensation may be ‘discounted’ in proportion to their ‘contributory negligence’.

In cases of severe injury, such as brain injury or permanent disability, even a discounted sum of compensation can be a lifeline to essential help with meeting the child’s needs for therapies, specialist equipment and care.

Our personal injury team are experts at recovering substantial compensation for severely injured children and teenagers, even where the defendant’s insurers argue that their own actions contributed to the accident or injury. Claims for serious injury arising from accidents which can involve allegations of contributory negligence include:

• cyclists injured whilst not wearing a cycle helmet or protective clothing;
• children crossing the road before the traffic lights changed or the road was clear;
• injuries whilst trespassing;
• car surfing or risk-taking behaviour.

We always recommend that families of a severely injured child or teenager contact us for advice before making their own decision about whether their child is likely to succeed with a compensation claim.

Read more about how we help clients in claims involving contributory negligence.

Children and young people under the age of 18 cannot legally make their own decisions in an injury compensation claim. We ensure that each child’s claim is handled in their best interests, and that important decisions are formally approved or made on their behalf, by their ‘litigation friend’, the court and, where needed, the Court of Protection.

Compensation claims for injured children must be made via a ‘litigation friend’. This is usually, but not always, the child’s parent. The child is our client and, as their solicitors, we act in their best interests. The litigation friend is our point of contact who gives us instructions and takes our advice on behalf of the child.  Litigation friends must also act in the child’s best interests, but they do not make decisions alone. We always support our clients’ litigation friends with our experienced solicitors’ expert advice. Where our client is an older teenager, we include them in discussions and take their views into account where they want to be involved.

The court must approve any compensation settlements involving a child. This applies whether the compensation is for the child’s own injury or for their loss of dependency arising from the death of a parent. Court approval of any agreed settlement usually takes place at a short hearing, during which the legal representatives for both sides are called upon by the court to justify that the child’s proposed settlement is fair, given the full circumstances of the case. We usually recommend that the child’s parents attend the hearing.

A child’s compensation settlement must be paid into court to be invested on their behalf until they are 18. Where the child is unlikely to have mental capacity to manage their own finances when they reach the age of 18, their compensation must be protected by a Court of Protection deputy. This provides reassurance that a young person will not be influenced by others to make unwise decisions about the use of their money which is intended to provide for their future needs. Our deputyship lawyers ensure that our clients’ money is protected and managed as required by law but is accessible to our clients as necessary to meet their needs<.