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Child Whiplash Claims

By Danielle Jordan. Last updated 3rd March 2024. Welcome to our child whiplash claims guide.

If your child has sadly been involved in a car crash or a sporting accident, they may end up suffering from whiplash. In most cases, children make a recovery within a matter of days. However, there are whiplash injuries that can be much more severe. No matter what applies to your child, if they have sustained a whiplash injury in an accident that was not their fault, you could be able to make a claim on their behalf.

We understand how hard it can be to see your child in pain and we’re here to help you claim the compensation you and your family deserve for your suffering.

Here at Legal Expert, our claims management team works with an experienced and reputable panel of personal injury lawyers that can help secure you the maximum compensation from the claim. We will guide you through every step of the claims process to make sure you get the payout you deserve.

You can also watch our video below which explains the key takeaways from our guide:

To learn more about our services, please get in touch today for a free consultation. We can talk you through your options in an open and impartial manner, providing you with free legal advice and support. If you want help from a personal injury lawyer, we can connect you to our panel today for them to handle the claim on a No Win No Fee basis.

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How Can Whiplash In Children Occur?

Whiplash happens when the head is thrown in a violent manner forwards and backwards. This is why it often occurs as a result of road traffic accidents. However, whiplash can occur in other ways. Some of the most common causes include:

  • Road traffic collisions and accidents
  • Being struck on the head by a solid or heavy object
  • A fall or slip where the head suddenly jolts backwards
  • A sudden blow to the head, i.e. during sports

As you can see, a child can end up suffering from whiplash in much of the same way that an adult can, which is why child whiplash compensation claims are quite common.

Child whiplash claims

Can I Make A Whiplash Claim On Behalf Of My Child?

Children cannot make their own whiplash claim. However, you can make one on behalf of your child. 

If you would like to seek personal injury compensation for your child, you will need to be appointed as their litigation friend. This means that you will need to apply to the court to act on behalf of your child for a whiplash claim. 

You can apply to become your child’s litigation friend at any point before they turn 18. If proceedings are still ongoing when your child turns 18, you will no longer be their litigation friend as they are deemed old enough to make a claim themselves. Should this occur, your child will need to write to the court to inform them. 

If the claim is successful, the Court Funds Office (CFO) will hold their settlement until they turn 18. However, as whiplash in a child may incur some expenses, you can apply for a payment to be made on behalf of your child. For example, if they require physical therapy to recover from their injury. 

If you have any questions about applying to be your child’s litigation friend for court proceedings, please get in touch with an advisor from our team.

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Steps To Take When Claiming For Whiplash In Children

If your child has sustained whiplash, the following simple steps could help you make successful whiplash claims for compensation on behalf of your child:

  1. Seek immediate medical attention – ensure that you’re not in danger or further harm and have any injuries logged on your medical record by your doctor
  2. Exchange details with any other road users involved – these could be crucial to the claim as they could allow you to hold those responsible liable
  3. Collect evidence – including photos of the scene and any damage to your vehicle
  4. Seek professional legal advice – get in touch with us at Legal Expert today for a free legal consultation and see how our No Win No Fee solicitors could help

One of the benefits of using a solicitor to claim for whiplash in children is that they can help explain the steps you could take following an accident. Contact our team today to learn more.

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What Is The Time Limit When Claiming Whiplash Compensation For Children?

If you are eligible to make a personal injury claim for whiplash on behalf of your child, there are certain time limits you must adhere to. These are set by the Limitation Act 1980.

When claiming for a whiplash injury, an adult will generally have three years to start their claim from the date of the accident.

However, for children under the age of 18, this limitation period is paused until their 18th birthday. From this date, they will have three years to start a claim. However, prior to this date, a court-appointed litigation friend could make a claim on their behalf. A litigation friend could be a parent or solicitor, for example.

Contact our advisors if you are still wondering, ‘Can I claim for whiplash on behalf of my child?’ They could also inform of the other exceptions to the three-year time limit for personal injury claims.

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Claim Whiplash Compensation

What Types Of Compensation Could I Receive?

When making a claim for a child whiplash injury, you can claim for the following:

General damages – This relates to general damages for the pain and suffering that the child has experienced, including physical and psychological injuries, like whiplash and subsequent post-traumatic stress disorder.

Out-of-pocket expenses – You can claim for any costs you have incurred as a direct consequence of your child’s injury as part of a child whiplash compensation claim, such as:

How Much Compensation For Whiplash In Children?

As stated above, following a successful claim, general damages are awarded to compensate for the physical pain and mental suffering experienced by your child because of their whiplash injury.

If you are pursuing a claim on behalf of your child, a compensation calculator could help you with giving a clearer idea of how much could be awarded to your child in whiplash compensation.

Whiplash in children is valued in line with the tariff of injuries set out in the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021. This is due to the introduction of the Whiplash Reform Programme. We have included some of these figures in the table below.

Any additional injuries your child may have suffered will be valued traditionally. In the table below, we have also included figures listed in the 16th edition of the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This is a document used by many legal professionals to help them value injuries. This is because it contains a list of compensation guidelines for various injuries. However, these figures should only be used as a guide. How much compensation you could receive may be affected by the factors of the claim.

Please note that the first entry has not been taken from the JCG.

Edit
Injury Severity Notes Compensation Bracket
Multiple Serious Injuries Plus Financial Losses Serious Compensation for multiple severe injuries and their associated financial losses such as prescription fees and travel expenses. Up to £200,000+
Neck Severe (i) An injury that is associated with incomplete paraplegia or results in permanent spastic quadriparesis. In the region of £148,330
Neck Severe (ii) Serious damage or fractures to the cervical spine discs causing considerable disabilities. £65,740 to £130,930
Neck Severe (iii) Severe soft tissue damage, ruptured tendons, fractures or dislocations that cause a significant disability and lead to chronic conditions. £45,470 to £55,990
Neck Moderate (i) Immediate symptoms caused by dislocations or fractures that may require spinal fusion. £24,990 to £38,490
Neck Moderate (ii) Disc lesions, wrenching-type or soft tissue injuries resulting in seriously limited neck movement and permanent pain. £13,740 to £24,990
Neck Moderate (iii) A neck injury that as exacerbated or accelerated a pre-existing condition. £7,890 to £13,740
Whiplash Tariff 2(1)(b) The claimant has suffered psychological injuries along with whiplash lasting between 18-24 months. £4,345
Whiplash Tariff 2(1)(a) The claimant has suffered a whiplash injury lasting between 18-24 months. £4,215

Call our advisors if you would like to discuss your potential claim and receive free advice.

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No Win No Fee Child Whiplash Compensation Claims

One of our No Win No Fee solicitors who has experience handling child whiplash claims could help you claim compensation on behalf of your child.

By offering to represent the whiplash claim on a No Win No Fee basis under the terms of a Conditional Fee Agreement, there are no fees to pay for the solicitor’s services upfront. Additionally, there will be no service fees to pay while the whiplash injury claim is ongoing or if it ends unsuccessfully.

However, if the solicitor is successful with the whiplash claim, they will be due a success fee. This fee will be taken directly out of the whiplash injury compensation awarded, and there is a legal cap in place for the percentage that this fee can be.

Contact Us To Start Your Child Whiplash Claim

Contact one of our advisors today to see if one of our No Win No Fee personal injury solicitors could assist you with making a child whiplash injury claim on behalf of your child. They could offer you free advice for the road traffic accident claim as well as answer any questions you may have about the child whiplash injury claims process.

To connect with them today and receive free legal advice, you can:

Helpful links

  • Car Accident Injury Payouts
    • This guide can give you an idea of the type of payouts that you could be entitled to claim after a car accident.
  • Whiplash Compensation Calculator
    • This link takes you to our guide on using a whiplash compensation calculator. You will also find plenty of additional information, including whiplash compensation claims FAQs, details on how compensation is calculated, as well as details on the different types of circumstances that can result in whiplash.
  • NHS – Guide to Whiplash
    • This gives you a great overview of the injury itself. The NHS provides information on the symptoms of whiplash, when to receive medical advice, the outlook for whiplash, the causes of whiplash, and the treatments that are available.
  • WAD In Children
    • This article provides an interesting insight into whiplash associated disorder (WAD) in children between the ages of 4 – 16 years old.
  • Whiplash Injury Facts
    • This is a comprehensive guide on whiplash. You will find whiplash injury facts, as well as details regarding prevention, treatment, diagnosis, common symptoms, and causes too.
  • Web MD Guide to Whiplash and Neck Strain
    • This is another useful website for information on both whiplash and neck strain. What makes this guide different from the other useful links is that it also has information on when your whiplash will feel better.
  • Making a Claim through the Motor Insurance Bureau
    • If you’ve had a road traffic accident but the other party is uninsured, this is an online claims portal where you can see if you have a claim online using the MIB.

Thanks for reading our child whiplash claims guide.

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