Although, particularly smaller children, are usually well protected in a vehicle with car seats and booster seats, whiplash can still be a factor if a child is involved in a road traffic accident.
If your child has suffered from whiplash, can they make a claim for compensation?
The simple answer is: not by themselves; the child themselves cannot start a claim as they are under the age of 18 and therefore cannot enter into legal proceedings – however an appropriate adult can act on their behalf for a whiplash claim and it will run in pretty much the same way an adult claim would.
The adult acting on behalf of a child is known as a “Litigation Friend“. This is usually a parent or guardian of the child. The litigation friend must be seen as an appropriate adult and therefore must complete what is known as a “certificate of suitability” for the court.
A child’s claim for whiplash pretty much runs the same as any other as the “litigation friend” is dealing with all the legal proceedings on their behalf.
So, how long does a child have to make a claim for compensation?
Well unlike an adult’s claim which has 3 years from the date of the accident to either settle a claim for personal injury, or log the claim with the court, a child normally has 3 years from the date of their 18th birthday. So a child, in theory, has up until the age of 21 to make a claim for personal injury.
However, it is recommended that a claim be made as soon as possible for any child as this can ensure that all the relevant evidence and information in respect of the accident is accessible and available. If a child is 5 when they are involved in an accident and does not make a claim until they are 19 then a lot of information and evidence can be lost and/or forgotten.
Once all the medical evidence has been agreed and an offer has been received from the Defendant’s in respect of the child’s injuries, and your solicitors believe that this is a reasonable offer and the litigation friend wishes to accept the offer, then the matter will be referred for an “Infant Approval Hearing“.
An Infant Approval Hearing will take place in the local Court and will be attended by both the child and their Litigation Friend. The reason for the hearing is for a judge to ensure that the amount being offered/accepted in respect of the child’s injuries is sufficient. The Judge will take into account all the medical evidence and the child’s symptoms, if any, at that stage and then will decide whether the amount can be approved by the Court.
If the compensation award is approved then the child will not normally receive the payout until their 18th birthday. This will normally be held in a Court Trust Fund which receives a high interest rate over the period it is held.
Applications can be made to the Court for some of the compensation award to be released, however, this will only be granted where the reason behind the request will be beneficial to the child, for example, educational needs.
Although this can seem quite complicated, here at The Injury Lawyers, we deal with these claims on a day to day basis and have a significant amount of child claims ongoing at the moment. Therefore, as we specialise in Personal Injury only, we are experts in this area.
If your child has sustained a whiplash injury, or any other injury though no fault of their own, please contact our dedicated claims line on 0800 634 75 75 for free, no obligatory advice.
