Children's accident & injury compensation claims

Has your child suffered a serious injury?

We realise that any injury that your child suffers can feel serious but there are certain circumstances that make an injury particularly severe, such as:

• If your child's development will be affected by their injury
• If they'll be living with a condition or pain that they didn't have before
• If their injury caused them to spend a prolonged time in hospital
• If you or another family member had to take long period of time off work

If any of these criteria apply to your situation, you might be able to make a serious injury claim on your child's behalf. Their compensation will cover the impact on your ability to work, as well as the pain and suffering through which your child has gone and any future limitations caused by their injury.

For more information, and for free advice, you can speak to us on . We know how daunting the thought of starting a claim can be, which is why we'll never rush you into making a claim, we're simply here to listen and to help.

Does my child have a claim?

If your child's injury was someone else's fault and the circumstances mean that there are grounds for a child personal injury claim, then you'll need to make it on their behalf. The person who makes a personal injury claim for a child under 18 is called a ‘'litigation friend'. It's usually a parent, close relative, guardian or any other legally recognised responsible adult — for instance, a social worker.

You can make a child personal injury claim for them at any time up to their 18th birthday. If no claim has been made by that point, they'll then have three years from their 18th until their 21st birthday to make the claim themselves.

There are exceptions to the child personal injury claim time limits:

• If your child has been severely injured and by the age of 18 is unable, physically or mentally, to make a claim themselves, then it's likely that there will be more time allowed you'll have longer  to do so using a litigation friend. 
• The same applies if a child turning 18 is similarly limited by a pre-existing condition that's unrelated to the accident injury.

We'll never rush or pressure you into making a claim. We're here to give you impartial child accident claims advice so that you can decide what to do next. If you're eligible and decide to go ahead, we'll put you through to one of the specialist accident solicitors in our network. Usually we can usually do this on the same call if that suits you.

How does compensation for child personal injury claims work?

When you get in touch with us, we'll listen to everything that you say about your child's accident. We'll also ask you some questions -this is to make sure that we understand the effect that their injury has had on their life, as well as their long-term needs.

If you have grounds for a child personal injury claim and decide to go ahead, the specialist solicitor that we appoint for you will ask you questions about the accident circumstances. They do this so that they can understand exactly what happened and assess the amount of compensation to which you may be entitled.

Your child injury lawyer will also consider:

• Any extra treatment or specialised care that your child might need.
• Any support that you or your child need.
• Any necessary adaptations to your home or car.
• The time that you've taken off work to give care, as well as that given by other family members.
• Your child's future and how this might now be different because of their accident.
• Any financial losses or expenses that you've suffered as a result. This could include things like the cost of treatment and travel expenses.

What type of injuries can I claim for?

In short, people can make child accident claims for any type of accidental injury that wasn't their fault. If your claim is successful, the damages awarded will compensate them for pain, suffering and the impact on their life as well as you and your family for the impact on yours. The compensation will include any financial losses that you've experienced as a direct result.

How do people start child accident claims?

There are two ways people start child personal injury claims with us. Either call us on  or fill in our simple online form to request a call back.

We understand that making a claim can seem stressful, which is why we aim to make the claims process  as simple as possible.

Once you get in contact with us, you'll speak to one of our friendly personal injury advisors. They'll ask you some questions about what happened to you or your child and will then be able to let you know whether they think that you're eligible to make a claim. If we think that you do have grounds for a claim and you give us your permission to continue, then we'll select a specialist children's injury lawyer for you and put you in touch with them.

Your solicitor will discuss your claim with you and advise you on the next steps. Our network of solicitors will help you to proceed on a no win no fee basis, and will keep you fully informed throughout.

Who pays the compensation in child injury claims?

If your child's injury was caused by someone else, child injury claims compensation will be paid by the insurance company of the person or organisation that you hold responsible.

This means that those responsible won't be left with a big bill that they can't afford. It's important to remember that making a claim will draw attention to the circumstances and this may prevent another family from experiencing what yours has gone through.

We're proud to say that we treat all child accident claims on an individual basis. This means that, when you contact us, you'll always speak to somebody who listens carefully and offers tailored advice.

It also means that the amount of compensation owed depends on your particular situation. Unfortunately, for this reason we're unable to let you know how much compensation you could receive when you do call us.

It's hard to say how much your child personal injury claim is worth before your solicitor has done the necessary investigation. However, you'll get a clear idea when your solicitor begins negotiating with the other side's insurance company. 

We have more than years_since experience so why not try our child injury compensation calculator? It'll give you a rough estimate of how much to which your child personal injury settlement could amount, if successful.

How are child personal injury claims funded?

You do this with a no win no fee arrangement, also known as a conditional fee agreement. It's the contract between you and your no win no fee child injury solicitor.

When you start your claim, your solicitor will take out insurance protection on your behalf. This is sometimes called ATE (After the Event) insurance. If your claim is unsuccessful, then the other party's costs will be paid out of this insurance. If you don't receive any compensation, then you won't have to pay for the ATE insurance. If your claim is successful, then it'll be paid out of your compensation as part of the fees.

If you win the claim, you'll be asked to pay any costs and expenses, not paid for by the other side, out of your compensation. This is likely to happen in most cases, as the other side is only required to contribute to your legal fees.

These costs may include:

• A ‘success fee' which compensates the solicitor for the risk that they took in helping you with your claim on a no win no fee basis
• Any other legal costs or expenses not recovered from the other side, such as the costs of any legal expense insurance

These costs will only be deducted when your compensation is paid, and there are no upfront costs or hidden charges.

Your solicitor will discuss this with you at the start, so you'll know what to expect when your claim settles. If you don't win your no win no fee claim, you pay nothing to anyone. It's as simple as that.