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When I was a kid, there was nothing I loved more than going down to the local park and swinging madly on the monkey bars and climbing on frames. Whilst many kids now remain indoors in front of the TV or computer consoles, local playgrounds are still in frequent use.

Kids will be kids – so accidents on playgrounds can be fairly common. But what happens if your child is injured on a playground because of some kind of defect or problem with the ground or the equipment? Can you make a claim for personal injury compensation for your child?
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Unfortunately, once they reach school age it’s difficult to be with them 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and therefore accidents can/will happen where its your child who is the injured one.

So, can you make a claim for compensation if your child has been injured during school hours?

These types of claims can be very difficult, as teachers and schools can only be expected to do so much and they cannot be expected to watch children every minute of every day. However, there are certain incidents that may warrant bringing a claim. Some of the most common situations are:
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Children unfortunately end up with cuts, bruises and sore heads from time to time after some vigorous playground fun or just simply because children can be unsteady. The question is can you claim compensation if your child becomes injured at school? Simply put you may be able to, but they can be very difficult claims and are very circumstantial.

Usually a claim such as this comes from an occupier’s liability perspective –  by this I mean accidents arise from defects on school premises such as faulty equipment or uneven ground, and it is the occupier of the premises (i.e. the school) who then have the responsibility. These claims can proceed just like any other occupier’s claim and therefore there are certain requirements to help your claim move along:

1. Photographs- Try and obtain photographs of what has injured your child!
2. Reports- Has the accident been reported to the school?
3. Witnesses details!

All of these things can help your child’s case and can make the claim more likely to succeed.
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Children are extremely curious – coupled with their lack of fear, often end up with bumps and bruises. Sometimes, however, children can be involved in accidents that are a lot more serious.

Accidents can happen anywhere, from in the school playground to being a passenger in a vehicle.

If your child has been injured in an accident through no fault of their own, it may be possible for you to make a children’s compensation claim on their behalf.

You can make a claim for your child up until they reach the age of 18. They will then have three years from the date of their 18th birthday to make a claim themselves if not already done so by a parent or guardian. A parent or guardian making a claim before then is called the litigation friend. The Litigation friend must be independent and therefore if the parent was to blame for the accident, they cannot act as the litigation friend. a grandparent or close friend can always act on their behalf instead.
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Please note that the information below may not apply to accidents that occur in Scotland. Therefore if you are looking for advice on child settlements in a Scottish claim please contact us direct.

When you have been involved in an accident, it can already be an upsetting time. However, when your children have also been involved this can make the scenario 10 times worse, especially if your child is injured. Fortunately, it is possible to pursue a claim on behalf of a minor (any persons under the age of 18) and therefore this may help make the situation appear clearer and go towards compensating for the distress involved.

So how does pursuing a whiplash claim for a child work? It is relatively simple. Primarily, the child will need what is called a litigation Friend to undertake the day to day running of the case. This is usually a parent or guardian, but can be anybody that is close to the child and most importantly acting in the child’s best interest.
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Contrary to some beliefs, children can sustain a whiplash injury. Generally they may not be as badly affected as adults, but a car accident can easily leave your child suffering with the same symptoms in the neck, back, and shoulder area.

Whiplash is caused by the ligaments and tendons in the neck, back, and shoulder areas being stretched beyond their normal range of movement. So this can happen whether you are an adult or a child.

Children have the right to make a claim in exactly the same way an adult is entitled to. There are a couple of differences to the claims process – for one, the child will need a litigation friend to act on their behalf, given that the law doesn’t commonly allow them to bring a claim themselves (rather obviously). This is normally a parent or guardian / family member, and can even be you if you were in the same accident.

The other major difference is that an Infant Approval Hearing will normally take place at the end of the claim. This is a simple hearing for a Judge to confirm that they are happy with the amount that has been accepted between us and the other insurers. As the child is under the age of 18, the Court should always intervene to make sure that any offers that are agreed are fair to make sure the best interests of the child are looked after.
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Accidents in schools are quite common and that is not really a surprise with children running around in the playground, play fighting, playing football and other things that children get up to these days. However there is a need to distinguish between genuine accidents and accidents giving rise to a personal injury claim.

You may be able to bring a compensation claim on behalf of your child if the accident was not his or her fault. For example if your child tripped over a raised paving slab on school premises or tripped in a pot hole. If the area was not adequately maintained and the defect caused injury, then a claim may be possible. It would also be possible to bring a claim if the child was injured as a result of faulty or defective equipment. For example a chair that broke causing injury.
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Now, sending your child out on a bicycle can be pretty daunting and scary for parents. Most of the time, a little consolation is that they are well kitted up with their reflective clothing, lights and of course a helmet to help keep them safe on the roads.

However, children do not always like to do as they are told or advised and will often remove the things that are keeping them safe as cyclists; especially the helmet. I remember getting to the end of the path, away from the house and removing the awful and un-cool helmet my mum made me wear when I was a kid!

As an adult now, I do see the significance and the benefit of wearing a helmet, but as a child, it is often a case of image over safety, even in the very young. So what does the law state about children who have been injured in an accident as a cyclist and were not wearing a helmet???
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In law, if a claim is made on behalf of a minor, then such a claim is normally made through a litigation friend which would often be a parent or carer. Obviously a minor cannot bring a claim themselves and therefore a litigation friend acts for them in their best interests. Obviously you would expect parents to act in their child’s best interests but if, for whatever reason, this was not the case then a professional person could be appointed as the litigation friend.

When a case is brought on behalf of a minor, when it comes to settlement, normally the settlement is made subject to approval by the Court. This is because the Court has to make sure that the settlement figure is reasonable and fair in respect of the Claimant’s (the child’s) injuries. This is known as Infant Approval Hearing.
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This is something that we will all be familiar with due to this sort of topic being highlighted on TV. Reckless driving incidents are unfortunately becoming a daily occurrence with the most common victims being children and the outcome is often devastating.

I am sure you all remember the horrid accident in Leeds involving 10 year old Sabah Saleem who was crossing a road with her 3 year old brother Rayhan Saleem when they were run over in the middle of the road by a speeding vehicle, which, unbelievably, did not stop at the scene and sped away leaving both children for dead in the middle of the road.

Brave Sabah actually took the brunt of the impact in order to protect her little brother and therefore was in a more serious condition that her brother – however luckily they both recovered well.
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