Children can be very accident-prone, but on most occasions there is no harm done. Unfortunately, however, there are also times when an accident is down to negligence, or occurs when your child is in the care of somebody else i.e. school or nursery.
Figures from the Child Accident Prevention Trust estimate that the cost of treating child accidents in the UK is in excess of £275 million per annum. It can cost as much as £250,000 to treat one severe bath water scald.
These figures, do not, however, accurately reflect the long-term costs of ongoing treatment and rehabilitation, nor do they reflect the cost of the pain and suffering to both the child and their family. Often, when accidents happen, people simply dismiss it as ‘one of those things’ when this is not always the case. Where an accident is caused by negligence on the part of another party, you have the legal right to make a claim for compensation.
Where Do Accidents Happen?
School
- Slips / trips on the school premises
- Faulty equipment
- Injuries during P.E. / sporting events
- Food poisoning
- School trips
Public / Private Premises
- Public pavements
- Shops
- Parks / playgrounds
- Fairs / theme parks
Whether your child has had an injury on public or private property (even if your child has trespassed) you are able to make a claim.
Road Accidents
Child road accidents will usually fall under three categories:
Passenger
Claims can be brought against the person at fault, this could include the other vehicle driver, the parent / guardian driving, bus / coach drivers etc.
Cyclist
You may be eligible to make a claim if your child has been hit by a car whilst on a bicycle, your child had an injury inflected due to a defective pot hole, or experienced an injury from a faulty bicycle or equipment.
Pedestrians
As a pedestrian an accident can occur at any time, you should be particularly cautious at schools around drop-off / pick-up times, crossing between stationary cars and when weather / driving conditions are poor.
Examples of Cases We Have Won Involving Children
The Claimant, H, was a 4-year-old child visiting a well-known Italian restaurant with his family. H went to the bathroom with a family member and began to use a toilet. As he pushed the toilet seat back and began to urinate, the toilet seat fell back down, onto H’s penis. His penis was cut and was painful for some time afterwards. Thankfully no permanent damage was done.
Howells Solicitors secured £2,500 in compensation for H.
The Claimant, M, was a 6-year-old child on holiday with her family. When using the swimming pool on the holiday park, M caught her knee on a jagged tile in the swimming pool. This left M with a large, permanent scar which was visible from conversational distance if her knee was on show. M required a number of medical treatments as result of the severity of the injury and this caused M to develop situational anxiety around medical staff.
Howells Solicitors secured £30,000 in compensation for M including private CBT sessions to help M overcome her anxiety.
Making a Claim with Howells Solicitors
If your child has had an injury and you wish to make a claim, Howells can help. Please contact us and our personal injury specialists will evaluate your case to see if a claim is likely to be successful.
If you were injured as a child and you wish to make a claim due to complications or issues that are related to your accident, you will be able to do so up until the age of 21 unless a claim has been previously made on your behalf by a parent/guardian.
