What’s the process for making a compensation claim for a child brain injury?
When you first contact our child brain injury solicitors, we’ll arrange a free initial consultation to discuss your claim. In this 30-minute consultation, we’ll also talk about funding options.
If you decide to use our team, we’ll start investigating your child’s brain injury. We’ll try to work out the value of your claim by collecting expert evidence on how your child’s injuries have affected their life and their future needs.
To make your case as strong as possible, we may even talk to your child’s teachers, friends and family about the changes they’ve seen in your child.
It can take a while to work out the long-term impact of a head injury in a child. We’ll monitor your child’s progress as they grow up and support you as they progress through school. To help during this time, it might be possible to secure interim compensation payments (if your opponent has accepted responsibility), which can pay for care by medical specialists and educational support.
Once the long-term impact of the injury is clear, we’ll value your claim based on the impact of the injuries and the care and support needed and will try to negotiate a settlement for you.
Normally, your child’s compensation will be held by the court until they turn 18. But if you choose to set-up a personal injury trust, you can access some of the funds on your child’s behalf to help pay for their care. When your child reaches 18, they’ll be given control of the trust unless they don’t have the mental capacity to do so. Trusts can also mean that your child’s compensation award doesn’t affect their entitlement to means-tested benefits.
What can my child’s compensation pay for?
Our solicitors will consider several things when deciding how much compensation your child should get to help with their head or brain injury. We’ll make sure that you receive a compensation figure that can pay for:
Long-term medical care
Educational support
Adaptions to your home and vehicle
Mobility equipment (such as wheelchairs)
Loss of earnings if you’ve been unable to work to look after your child
Expenses, such as travel expenses to hospital appointments
Potential loss of earnings if your child will be unable to work in the future.
The amount of compensation your child can get will depend upon the severity of their injuries and whether they’re likely to make a full recovery. We’re aware that as a parent, you might have to take time off work or even quit your role to look after your child. Your compensation can take this into account and help pay for home support.
As claims involving children can be particularly complex, they may take longer than usual. In cases where the opponent has accepted responsibility, we might be able to help you access early compensation payments to help pay for ongoing care and expenses.
Who can make a claim on behalf of a child?
Our serious injury team is happy to be contacted by a parent, teacher, or other professional on behalf of a child who’s sustained a brain or head injury. Children under 18 can’t deal with their own compensation claim, but an adult (usually a parent) can deal with one on their behalf.
If you sustained a brain or head injury due to an accident when you were a child, we could help you claim after you’ve turned 18. You can make a claim of this type at any point until your 21st birthday.
To make your claim as stress-free as possible, we can travel to meet you and your child at home or in hospital, as we appreciate that travelling might be difficult.
How We'll Handle Your Claim
After you’ve contacted us we’ll start by helping you work out if anybody was to blame for the accident. If they were, we’ll try to work out the value of your claim by collecting expert evidence on how your child’s injuries have affected their life and their future needs.
To make your case as strong as possible, we may even talk to your child’s teachers, friends and family about the changes they’ve seen in your child.
It can take a while to work out the long-term impact of a head injury in a child so we’ll monitor your child’s progress as they grow up and support you as they progress through school. To help during this time, it might be possible to secure interim compensation payments (if your opponent has accepted responsibility) which can pay for care by medical specialists and educational support.
Once the long-term impact of the injury is clear, we’ll value your claim based on the impact of the injuries and the care and support needed and will try to negotiate a settlement for you. If necessary, we can refer you to our other legal teams who can advise on matters such as investing your compensation and setting up a personal injury trust for your child.
Normally your child’s compensation will be held by the court until they turn 18 but if you choose to set-up a personal injury trust, you can access some of the funds on your child’s behalf to help pay for their care. When your child reaches 18, they’ll be given control of the trust unless they don’t have the mental capacity to do so. Trusts can also mean that your child’s compensation award doesn’t affect the amount of means-tested benefits they can receive in the future.
What are the time limits to making a child brain injury compensation claim?
When claiming on behalf of a child, there are no limits while they’re still under 18. Once your child turns 18, they’ve got three years to make their own claim.
If your child doesn’t have the mental capacity to handle their own claim after they’ve turned 18, you might be able to make a claim on their behalf and this wouldn’t be subject to any time limits.
Can I Make A Claim On A No Win No Fee Basis?
Our Experts
We’re consistently ranked amongst the very best serious injury lawyers in the country by independent legal guides, who say we're "incredibly knowledgeable, with the resources to make sure claimants are put in the best possible position" (Legal 500, 2021).
Our lawyers work closely with leading charities, including the Child Brain Injury Trust, local support groups and specialist NHS children’s services to seek improvements to the care of children with head injuries. Our close ties with these organisations also means that we can get specialist advice on what treatment and support would best benefit your child and family.
