As you will no doubt agree, a child or a ‘protected party’ is in no position to bring a claim for compensation on their own accord. Can you imagine, for example, your five year old boy solely dealing with lawyers and obtaining compensation? I thought not. So that a child or a protected party is able to bring a claim for compensation the law states that they will require a ‘litigation friend’.
A litigation friend is a person, a responsible adult, who will act on the child or protected party’s behalf and deal with their claim for compensation for them. In most cases a litigation friend will be a parent or a guardian, but equally a litigation friend could be a carer, social worker, another relative or close family friend. The most important thing is that the litigation friend is someone who is trusted and will do their utmost for the injured party to help their claim for compensation.
Importantly, the use of a litigation friend does not have any real effect on bringing a claim for compensation; it is almost as if it was their claim for compensation, and can be run in the same way. The only thing that is different is that they will have to fill out a form called the ‘Certificate of suitability of litigation friend’. This is very straightforward and just takes down your details, your relation to the injured party, and provides authority for you to act on their behalf.
Having a litigation friend does not mean that the injured person will receive less or more compensation, it just makes sure that they get the compensation they deserve; without a litigation friend they would be unable to make that claim for compensation in the first place. In fact, the more helpful and co-operative a litigation friend is, the speedier the claim might progress. As long as the litigation friend has the injured party’s best interests at heart and is determined to obtain their compensation for them, there is no difference in the claim for compensation.
If your child has been injured through no fault of their own and you believe that they will be entitled to compensation, give us at The Injury Lawyers a call today and we will be able to assess the potential claim, provide you with some free legal advice, guide you through the compensation claiming process, and set you up as a litigation friend straight away.