Do you have a legal claim?

To bring a claim for compensation for injuries your child sustains, somebody else must be responsible for what has happened. Compensation is not available simply because an accident occurred, or that the outcome of a medical procedure was not as expected.

In law, if somebody (either a person or an institution) breaches the duty of care which they owe to your child, and your child suffers an injury as a result; there may be a legal claim.

Working out if someone was to blame for your child’s accident can be difficult and it may easier to consider common situations:

In relation to Road Traffic accidents, if your child was injured whilst a passenger in the vehicle there will be a claim. In many situations a parent may be the driver and the child may need to be separately represented.
If your child was a pedestrian or cyclist, it will depend on how the accident happened, but if your child is under 8 years old the law starts from the assumption the driver was to blame and the child can usually claim.
In the event of a “hit and run” situation a claim can be successful even if the driver’s identity is unknown.
Accidents can happen at school and in the playground. In this situation, you need to consider if the school did all they should have to protect your child from the injury.
If your child has been the victim of a criminal assault, a claim can be made to the Criminal Injury Compensation Authority.
Medical treatment can go wrong and the outcome of a procedure can be unsatisfactory. For there to be a claim, there has to be negligent treatment, and not just an unexpected outcome.
Birth can be a risky time and negligent management of a pregnancy, labour or delivery can lead to a child having a brain injury. Injury can be caused by delayed delivery resulting in fetal distress. Premature birth can also cause problems if resuscitation is inadequate at birth.
Children who have suffered a birth injury may present with Cerebral Palsy and children who suffer a Shoulder Dystocia during delivery may also develop Erb’s Palsy. Newborn babies are also very vulnerable and a child may develop a brain injury as a result of hypoglaecemia (low blood sugar) in the first few days of life.
As a parent it can sometimes be difficult to get your concerns about your child’s health taken seriously, and sometimes there can be late diagnosis of serious conditions such as malignant and benign tumours and meningitis including meningococcal septicaemia to name but a few.

It can be difficult to decide who is to blame and whether you can claim. You can contact a solicitor for a free advice who will investigate these issues on your behalf, and advise you as to the merits of bringing a claim on behalf of your child, and what would be involved.

What time limits apply?

For children, the claim can be made anytime up to their 21st birthday, if the accident or injury occurred when the child was under 18 years of age. In Scotland, the time limit is by the child’s 19th birthday if they were under 16 when the incident arose.

Author: Carol Jackson, Head of Personal Injury for Pannone LLP