If your child has been involved in an accident that was not their fault and have sustained injuries as a result, just like an adult, they are able to obtain compensation for their injuries.  The difference is that they will need a ‘Litigation Friend’ to conduct the case on their behalf.

As I am sure you would agree, most children under the age of 18 would not be capable of bringing a claim for compensation themselves; this is particularly true if they are just three or four years old.  But this does not mean that if they have been injured they cannot be compensated.  Instead, a ‘litigation Friend’ – in other words, a responsible adult with the child’s best interests at heart – can bring their claim for compensation for them. 

Typically a litigation friend will be a child’s parent or guardian, but equally could be a social worker or some other trustworthy adult who has no conflict of interest with the case.
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There are so many websites out there to browse through when it comes to deciding who you want to represent you for your claim for compensation.

The bad news is that a load of them are NOT actually lawyers; they are just Claims Management Companies and Accident Advice Services that often like to appear as if they’re lawyers to draw you in.
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OK – so we’ve been covering the fantastic news that referral fees for claims, such as referrals through legal expenses insurance / motor legal protection where your insurers will ‘sell’ your details on to a third party solicitor for cash, which forms part of a government agenda to make the world of compensation claiming more efficient.

One of the other areas has been surrounding the cut of the legal aid bill and potential changes to the no win, no fee system. The gist and result of the whole idea will result in a reduction in the number of payouts, which I imagine is intended for the costs of insurance to lower; although I’d love to see the day the insurers pass on saving to the consumer!

But, back to the main topic, sadly, proposals in place involve shifting some of the costs of the no win, no fee system to the Claimant from the Defendant. We strongly oppose such a notion, as it will result in innocent accident victims having their payouts slashed to cover costs the Defendant, i.e. the person or party at fault for the injuries, will no longer have to pay the full amount.
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At The Injury Lawyers we are frequently asked about how the compensation claiming process works.  In most parts the claims process is actually quite straightforward; what is better is that with the right lawyer your side they will do all the work for you.  Here is a quick guide to how you accident claim works.

The first thing that is required is to produce a Letter of Claim.  This outlines your accident and why we consider that the Defendant is legally responsible for your injuries and should therefore provide you with compensation.  At The Injury Lawyers we try and get this off to the Defendant as soon as possible to make sure that there are no delays in getting your compensation.  It is therefore extremely helpful if you have all your details along with the accident circumstances, in as much detail as possible, so that your Letter of Claim is thorough and can be sent straightaway. 

The more detail your lawyers have the faster your claim can be settled because the Defendant will be able to investigate your claim without having to seek further information.  When your Letter of Claim is sent the Defendant has a period of 21 days to acknowledge receipt, and then upon this, a further 3 months to investigate your claim.  This is not to say that the Defendant will need these 3 months to investigate, but they are allowed this period of time.  Naturally, the more detailed the Letter of Claim, the faster your claim can be investigated.
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At The Injury Lawyers we welcome the recent announcement that referral fees have been banned.  We believe that this will provide greater transparency within the legal and insurance world and will ensure that the Claimant gets the best possible service.

A referral fee is a fee paid by a solicitor or claims management company to an insurer for the details of those who have been unfortunate enough to have been involved in an accident and sustained injuries as a result.  For example, you have been involved in a road traffic accident and suffered a broken arm through no fault of your own. 

Insurers know you have a claim for compensation and will provide your details to a solicitor or claims management company who is willing to pay between £200 and £1,000 on average for those details.  The reason they will pay such a hefty fee is because they know your claim for compensation has excellent prospects of success and that they can get this referral fee back and more in legal costs when they win your case.  All they have to do is get in touch with you, get you on board, and then win your claim – which is actually quite straightforward.
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Making a claim for compensation for injuries sustained in a relatively straightforward road accident is quick and easy.  As of the 30^th April 2010 a new process came into place which streamlined the compensation claiming process making it a heck of a lot faster and easier.  Whereas previously an admission of liability could potentially take four months to come from the Defendant, now the Defendant only has 15 business days to admit or deny liability.  As I am sure you would agree, this is a massive improvement.

What happens now is that when you get in touch with an injury lawyer you will be asked to help your lawyer fill out what is called a claims notification form.  This will outline your accident circumstances, the vehicles involved, the injuries you have sustained, and the parties details.  This will be submitted, once completed, to the Ministry of Justice portal online and the Defendant’s insurers will have just one day to acknowledge receipt of it. 

After this they then have the 15 business days to come back with their position on liability.  At The Injury Lawyers we only take only cases which we genuinely believe will be successful; therefore in most of our cases an admission is received well within this 15 day period.
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Children are involved in accidents every day; whether at school, in the playground, or at home. Quite often this is simply a pure accident that is no one’s fault. However, children can be the victims of other people’s careless behaviour, just the same as adults.

Young people suffer injuries in pretty much the same sort of circumstances that adults do, whether it is as a passenger in a car, tripping or slipping in a public place or because of a faulty product.

Children are more vulnerable than adults and this means that people in situations involving children have to take extra care to ensure that they do not cause harm to children because of their carelessness.  It also means that children can claim compensation in situations where adults could not; for example if a child has an accident because they were not being supervised properly.
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On average, someone in the UK will suffer two broken bones in their lifetime. A fracture is the medical term for a broken bone; but they both mean the same thing.

A broken bone can range from a barely noticeable hairline fracture through to a bone that has been completely snapped into separate pieces. Healthy bones are generally very strong and will actually bend under pressure. But sudden or very forceful impact can cause the bone to fracture. Young children’s bones break more easily because they are still growing, but they will also heal more quickly. Unfortunately, as we get into old age, our bones become more brittle and will break more easily.

Doctors refer to broken bones in a number of different ways depending on the type of break or fracture. The most common include:
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Some people who are entitled to compensation for injuries that they have sustained in road traffic accidents caused by the negligence of third party drivers choose not to make a claim for compensation because they are of the view that the process is time consuming and ultimately not worth it. 

At the end of the day, it is up to you whether you want to make a claim for compensation – no-one can force you into this – but the reality of claiming for compensation in what are considered as straightforward road traffic accidents, for instance where someone drives into the back of you, is actually equally straightforward and takes little time at all.

At the end of April 2010 a new protocol was introduced which streamlined the claims process for low value road traffic accidents.  Under previous rules it could take up to 4 months for the Defendant to admit or deny liability, and then several months thereafter to settle your claim.  This was far too long; under the new protocol the Defendant has 15 business days after they are made aware of your claim to come back with their decision on liability.  This is a vast, vast improvement from 4 months.  So if people tell you that the claims process is a big hassle, all I can say is that it has improved significantly – and with the right injury lawyer on your side you won’t have to lift a finger.
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If you have been injured through tripping, slipping or falling on a defect whilst out and about on the highways, whether it’s from tripping on a raised paving slab, or falling down because of a pothole in the road, you are eligible to initiate a claim with the local highways authority of council.

Every stretch of land is under the jurisdiction of a local council or some branch of highways authority; their responsibility is to ensure that all areas within their jurisdiction are regularly inspected and maintained and rectify any defect that may appear.

If you end up injuring yourself because of a defect in the highway, I, unfortunately, have some rather grim news for you. We here at The Injury Lawyers do not like to mollycoddle you when it comes to the serious business of making claims. We tell you straight, right from the start, whether we think you have a good claim or not. In many instances, it’s difficult to tell without some form of investigation with the other side on our Genuine No Win, No Fee basis. But what I can tell you is that making a claim against your local council or a highways authority is a very difficult process.
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