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.
