Serious Injury lawyers from Irwin Mitchell have secured compensation for the mother of an 11 year old boy who suffered serious head injuries when he was a baby after he was tipped from a high chair by a disabled child.
Jack Cooper, from Stockton-on-Tees, was just 12 months old when the baby chair he was sitting on in a café at Teeside Business Park was tipped up by an autistic child on a school trip. Jack sustained serious head injuries and suffered persistent vomiting and a noticeable change in behaviour and mood following the accident.
Now 11, Jack attends a mainstream school but still needs regular counselling and treatments to help cope with his head injury and hearing loss. His mother, Deborah Patience, got in touch with our Serious Injury lawyers in Newcastle to see if we could help secure a settlement to cover the cost of Jack’s care needs and gain access to the equipment to help him live life to the fullest.
Middlesbrough Council, who manage Beverly School for children with autistic spectrum disorders, admitted that they had failed to control the autistic child at the time. This led to the approval of an undisclosed settlement that will enable him to access the care that will help him get the best from life.
Rebecca Maddock, Serious Injury specialist at Irwin Mitchell said of the case: “This was an unusual incident in which Jack suffered very serious and life-changing injuries when he was just a year old.
"The school overseen by the council could have supervised the autistic child better which may have prevented Jack from being tipped from his chair.
"Jack will be likely to need help for the rest of his life and the settlement is based on expert medical evidence about his potential future needs. Hopefully it will give the family peace of mind that he will now receive the help he needs to realise his full potential."
Deborah, Jack’s mother, also said: “I was devastated when I found out about Jack’s head injuries and the fact he had been left with permanent hearing loss. It all happened so fast on the day and was a terrifying experience as it was clear something serious had happened. We were all so worried about him and it has been a very difficult time indeed.”
“Jack is now just getting on with things the best he can but the settlement is a massive relief for us as it means he can get some specialist help with equipment and also some therapies to help him in future. This is vital funding which means we can look positively to the future and help Jack to get the very best from life.”
If your child has sustained an injury then please get in touch with our Children’s Accidents solicitors as we may be able to help you claim. Either call us on 0370 1500 100 or fill in our contact form and we’ll call you back.
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