Child injury compensation
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If your child – or a child you care for – suffers harm due to the actions of someone else, it may be possible to claim compensation to help you and them cope with the outcome.
No amount of money can take away the pain, but claiming compensation may help you to access the help and support you need to move forwards.
Our expert solicitors have dealt with countless complex cases involving injuries to children through medical negligence, personal injury accidents and abuse. We also help families who have suffered the loss of a child.
We can advise when:
- you think you have a claim but aren’t sure
- you have started pursuing a claim or complaint without legal representation
- you have begun a claim with another firm but aren’t confident in how it is progressing.
Please do get in touch for a no obligation chat. We are here to listen and help.
How we support child injury claims
We understand how difficult it is for families when a child is harmed and that bringing a compensation claim can seem extremely daunting and overwhelming.
We’ll work closely with you to understand the individual circumstances of your case and specific worries and challenges you face.
We support you to identify the best possible help and care for your child and – via your compensation claim – the means to access it.
When a child is injured, their needs can be costly and may impact on the ability of family members to work too. Compensation helps people to meet those needs and to build a new future.
We work with families to link them to support networks and experts who understand the historic, current and long-term impacts of an injury and how to address those.
We know that dealing with a claim on top of everything else may feel like too much, but we’re here to ease the burden and help you manage all the responsibilities of caring for your family and proceeding with legal action.
Please do get in touch to find out how we can help.
Can I claim compensation for my child’s injury?
If your child has been harmed, and it was wholly or partially due to someone else’s actions or inaction, you may have a claim.
This includes harm via:
- a mistake in medical care, missed diagnosis or a delay in treatment (medical negligence)
- a mistake or delay in surgery (surgical negligence)
- mistakes in care at birth
- a road traffic collision
- injury due to an animal
A compensation award can help you to access care, support and equipment you may not otherwise have been aware of or been able to benefit from.
We help people with cases involving:
Will claiming compensation for my child’s injury help me get an apology and answers?
For many people, claiming compensation isn’t solely about money. You may wish to pursue answers, an apology or to ensure no one else is harmed in a similar way.
Going through the process of claiming compensation and the evidence gathering and inquiry it requires, can help you to achieve those things too.
The support we offer during the compensation claims process also helps you to begin to come to terms with and plan for the long-term needs you may have as a family.
In some circumstances we may be able to connect you with a case manager to help identify issues, tackle paperwork and manage appointments.
What is the average value of a child injury claim?
Child injury claim amounts are based on the specific harms done to a child and the long-term impact of those.
Claims for a child who faces a lifetime of care needs because of clinical negligence or an accident can run into millions of pounds.
Compensation claims are made up of two elements – general damages and special damages.
General damages are intended to compensate for the pain and suffering caused by an injury and will often form the smaller element of a claim. Awards of this element of a claim tend to follow guidelines set out by the Judicial College.
The guideline compensation amount for the general damages element of a claim for a child who suffers:
- severe brain damage is up to £379,100 plus special damages
- epilepsy is up to £140,870 plus special damages
- blindness is around £224,680 plus special damages
- a below elbow amputation of one arm is £102,890 plus special damages.
Special damages are based on calculations and evidence provided by a child injury compensation solicitor to show the cost of needs a child is likely to have in the future and loss of earnings of the child and family.
A specialist solicitor is best placed to build out these costings, accounting for the full range of possible future needs and requirements.
Special damages may far exceed the general damages element of a claim.
Is there a time limit on childhood compensation claims?
In child injury claims there may be no deadline for bringing a claim.
It is usually possible to begin a claim any time up to a child’s 21st birthday, regardless of the type of injury suffered.
In cases where someone does not have mental capacity (the ability to make their own decisions) because of a brain condition, for example, there is usually no time limit on bringing a claim.
If you think you may have a claim, please do contact us for some initial, free, no obligation advice.
How do you claim child accident compensation/child injury compensation?
Your first contact with us does not cost you anything and doesn’t obligate you to make a claim.
The very first step is for us to listen to what’s happening for you and advise you on your options.
We’ll ask some questions to help us understand what has happened and whether you might have a valid claim.
If you want to explore further, we’ll organise a chat with one of our specialist solicitors.
If you decide to proceed with a claim we may be able to:
- access interim compensation payments to get interim financial help to you while we work on the detail of the full claim
- organise a case worker to help you cope with everything you are juggling including getting on top of the organisation of hospital appointments and communications with social services, school and the local authority
- link you to support services and charities that work with other families facing similar challenges
- help you find specialist treatments that you might not have otherwise been aware of
- help to organise respite care
- help you access counselling for you and/or your child
- explain and organise options to fund your claim, including no win no fee.
How long does it take to complete a child injury claim?
Securing the final settlement of a child injury claim may take many months, even years, but we can often get you help straight away.
We’ll work to establish acceptance of negligence as early as possible and may be able to get interim payments to help you before a final settlement is reached.
Because making a claim is often a long process it is vital to feel good about the solicitor you choose to look after you throughout.
As we are specialists in child injury compensation, we understand just how daunting the process can be and how much you already have to deal with. We’ll support you every step of the way and do everything we can to ease your burden, not just in relation to the claim but in terms of the day-to-day needs you have as a result of your child’s injury.
Further child injury claim information
If you’d like to do some further reading before getting in touch, you may also find some of our guides and frequently asked questions pages useful:
- Client guide to birth injury claims
- How to fund a child injury claim
- How do you prove a child injury claim?
- What is medical negligence?
- How do you fund a child compensation claim?
- Can I see my child’s medical records?
- Does claiming compensation harm the NHS?
- Will I have to give evidence in court?
- Will doctors treat me or my child differently if we claim compensation?
We’re here to answer your questions and help you decide if to make a claim. Do contact us for friendly, supportive advice.
Who we Work With
We work closely with the Child Brain Injury Trust, who provide help and support to parents whose children have a brain injury, and are their recognised legal services provider for the South West.
We also support the Children’s Trust, who offer both residential and community-based rehabilitation services for children and young people with a brain injury. You may like to visit their Brain Injury Hub, the UK’s only information resource aimed at supporting the parents and carers of brain injured children.
