By Stephen Bishop. Last updated 14th July 2023. Welcome to our guide on working with a child brain injury lawyer. If your child has been injured because of third party negligence, and have experienced a brain injury as a result, then you could be owed compensation.
Child brain injury lawyer guide
In this guide, we will discuss the process of claiming compensation with a child brain injury lawyer. We’ll look at what a brain injury is and how it can affect the injured person’s quality of life.
You can click any of the headings that you see below to jump to a particular section. Alternatively, you might wish to contact Legal Helpline to discuss the strength of your personal injury compensation claim.
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Jump To A Section
- A Guide About How A Child Brain Injury Lawyer Could Help You Claim
- How Does A Brain Injury Affect A Child?
- What Is The Most Common Brain Injury In Children?
- Symptoms You May Observe
- Can Brain Injuries Happen During Childbirth?
- Child Brain Injury Complications
- Treatment And Rehabilitation
- Child Brain Injury Lawyer Compensation Calculator
- What Else Could I Claim?
- What Steps Do I Need To Take Before Submitting A Claim?
- Claim For A Child Brain Injury With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
- Contact Legal Helpline Today
- Head Injury Resources
- FAQs About Child Brain Injury Lawyers
A Guide About How A Child Brain Injury Lawyer Could Help You Claim
Throughout this guide, we will break down how a child brain injury lawyer can help you. To make a successful claim for compensation, you need to prove that the negligence of a third party caused the accident.
This means that:
- The third-party owed you a duty of care;
- A breach of the duty of care occurred;
- You were injured as a result of this duty of care breach.
A duty of care means that someone had a responsibility to keep you safe. Duty of care applies on the road and in public spaces, amongst other places.
All 3 points of criteria must be met for the claim to be valid. If your claim meets each of these points, you could have grounds to pursue a claim for compensation.
Please read on or drop us a message if you want additional information. Our advisors can offer free legal advice relating to your claim.
How Does A Brain Injury Affect A Child?
A brain injury occurs when there is some damage to the brain. This can be caused by physical trauma like a blow to the head, or as a result of the brain being starved of oxygen. A blow to the head causing injury could happen because of a slip, trip or fall, an accident in a public place or a road traffic accident.
Brain injuries can have a severe impact on your quality of life whenever they’re sustained. But if the brain is injured in childhood, this can seriously affect their development and quality of life as a result.
For example, a child could suffer from a brain injury at a young age. This might affect the brain’s ability to pick up skills that it would usually be able to do with minima issues. For example, the injured child might experience some issues with motor skills or language development if they have experienced a brain injury.
Sometimes, the effects of a brain injury might not be apparent until a certain part of the brain is used more. For example, a young child might experience damage to their frontal lobe, but this isn’t apparent until the child gets older and this part of the brain is used for things like problem-solving and judgement.
All of these are amongst the potential consequences of a brain injury on a child. However, remember that a child brain injury lawyer could assist with a compensation claim for anyone suffering from this injury. Please call our friendly team to discuss the impact that a brain injury can have on a child in further detail.
What Is The Most Common Brain Injury In Children?
According to Great Ormond Street Hospital, there are a number of different kinds of head injuries that a child could sustain. These include:
- Skull fracture. Fractures to the skull may sometimes heal without intervention. However, if the fracture is depressed meaning that it pushes inwards, this may require surgery to stop the bone from putting pressure onto the brain.
- Haemorrhage. This is where there is bleeding on the brain. This can either happen at the time of the accident or later. The blood clot can put pressure on the brain, causing damage.
- Lack of oxygen. A hypoxic brain injury could occur if the flow of oxygen to the brain is interrupted. For example, the umbilical cord could be wrapped around a child’s neck during childbirth. You could claim if this was caused by medical negligence.
If your child has experienced a brain injury as the result of negligence, you may be able to claim. You would need to demonstrate that the negligent party owed your child a duty of care and that a breach of this duty caused the injury. Get in touch with one of our advisors today for more information about pursuing a claim.
Symptoms You May Observe
A brain injury may exhibit different symptoms in some children than in others. Furthermore, the effects of this kind of injury could vary depending on what part of the brain was injured and how severe the injury is.
Some of the effects of an acquired brain injury (ABI) in a child might include:
- Weak limbs and difficulty moving
- Memory problems
- Learning difficulties, or difficulty acquiring new information
- Changes in mood and behaviour. For example, the child may be more irritable or act inappropriately.
- Problems with concentration
- Drowsiness or tiredness
In addition to this, your child may experience emotional problems as a result. For example, they could become anxious and depressed. If the child is particularly young, they may not be able to communicate these feelings to you effectively.
The list of symptoms we’ve included above is not exhaustive. There may be some symptoms that we have not included but which affect your child after a brain injury. For a free assessment of your child’s claim but with no obligation to proceed, speak to a member of our team today.
Can Brain Injuries Happen During Childbirth?
Below, we have included a graph showing statistics taken from Imperial College about the number of birth injuries that lead to brain damage. They show the number of infants born at term with brain injuries. Please bear in mind that these statistics exclude any children with conditions that could lead to brain injury. As you can see, the number of infants born at term with a brain injury has been declining since 2015.
Child brain injury lawyer statistics graph
These injuries could be caused by medical negligence. This is where the healthcare provider who is treating you fails to deliver the appropriate standard of care, causing injury or harm.
If your child has been injured as a result of medical negligence during childbirth, you could claim. Speak to one of our advisors today for more information.
Child Brain Injury Complications
As well as the initial effects of an accident causing a brain injury, this kind of injury could cause complications. These complications can develop as the child grows, and could include:
- An increased risk of epilepsy. Epilepsy is a condition that causes someone to suffer seizures. If someone experiences epilepsy after a head injury, they may need to take medication to control it.
- Disorders of consciousness. Someone who experiences a brain injury might enter a state of impaired consciousness. This could include things like a coma, vegetative state or a state of minimum consciousness.
- Loss of sense of taste or smell. As well as an impact on senses, your child may also be left unable to regulate their own body temperature.
All of these are potential complications that may be worth noting as part of the personal injury claim, as your child could be compensated for the impact it has had on your quality of life. Talk to our friendly team if you have any queries; you could be connected with a child brain injury lawyer from our panel.
Treatment And Rehabilitation
The brain is an extremely complex organ that can be damaged in a number of ways. Medicine does not have a full understanding of how the brain works, which means that someone who has experienced a brain injury may never return to the condition they were in before the accident.
While in the hospital, your child might undergo inpatient rehabilitation. This is rehabilitation that happens in the hospital. For example, they might have surgery if they’re suffering from a depressed fracture in their skull.
They will usually also receive support after leaving the hospital. The kind of support they receive might depend on the ways they have been affected by their brain injury.
For example, if your child has problems with talking or language acquisition, they might be offered speech and language therapy. A child who has persistent problems with motor skills may be offered physiotherapy.
Your child could undergo this treatment in a special centre. Alternatively, they might have a therapist who comes to their school or home to work with them.
Child Brain Injury Lawyer Compensation Calculator
When making a claim for compensation, there are a number of factors that can affect the potential compensation payout. Furthermore, no two claims for personal injury compensation are ever the same because no two cases are ever the same.
However, we can still offer some guidance on what the child may receive for their ordeal. In this table, we have a series of guideline compensation brackets for injuries of this nature. These figures come from the Judicial College Guidelines.
We must note, though, that these are only estimates and aren’t by any means a guarantee of the final payouts. The amount of compensation your child receives will be based on the impact their injury has had on them and how severe it is.
| Injury | Severity | Compensation | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brain Damage | Very Severe | £282,010 to £403,990 | Injuries within this bracket will leave the person with little or no response to their environment. They will be incontinent and need full-time nursing care. |
| Brain Damage | Moderately Severe | £219,070 to £282,010 | The injured person will be dependent on others and require professional care. Disabilities might be physical or cognitive. |
| Brain Damage (i) | Moderate | £150,110 to £219,070 | Where the injured person's intellect has been affected to a moderate to severe degree. There will be a significant risk of epilepsy and the person will be unable to work. |
| Brain Damage (ii) | Moderate | £90,720 to £150,110 | Where the injured person's intellect has been affected to a moderate to modest degree. There will be a significant risk of epilepsy. |
| Brain Damage (iii) | Moderate | £43,060 to £90,720 | Where concentration and memory are affected and there is a small risk of epilepsy. |
| Brain Damage | Less Severe | £15,320 to £43,060 | Brain damage where the injured person will have made a good recovery. However, not all normal functions will be restored. |
| Brain Injury | Minor | £2,210 to £12,770 | If there is any brain damage, it will be minimal. |
For more information on how much you could receive for your child’s brain injury, speak to a member of our team today. You could be offered a no-obligation assessment of your claim.
What Else Could I Claim?
The above estimates relate to general damages. However, your compensation could also consist of something called special damages. This is the compensation awarded to you to account for any financial losses incurred as a result of the injuries.
You could claim for:
- A loss of income for the child’s parents or guardians in the aftermath of the accident
- The costs of medication and treatment
- The cost of transportation, for example to and from the hospital
- Any necessary home or car modifications to assist the child after their injury
Additionally, you could include a care claim as part of special damages, and this could potentially include:
- The gracious care that the child receives from family, friends and other guardians;
- Having a professional carer or nurse to look after them
If you’d like more information on what could be claimed under special damages, you can get in touch with our team today. They can assess how valid your claim is and how much compensation you could be awarded.
What Steps Do I Need To Take Before Submitting A Claim?
The first thing you need to do is make sure that the child receives the necessary medical evaluation. This will ensure that they are in the best position to get any treatment that they require.
Furthermore, you could collect evidence that could support a claim for compensation further down the line. For example, you might take photographs of the hazards that caused the accident to happen. You could also collect the details of any witnesses who saw what took place; they may be able to provide a statement later on.
You could also collect evidence of any financial losses you have incurred. For example, if you have had to make adjustments to your home to accommodate your child’s injuries, then you could provide an invoice to show how much you have paid on this.
Finally, you may wish to speak with a child brain injury lawyer. They will assess if your claim is viable. If it is, they could offer to represent you.
Get in touch with us today for more information. We could connect you with a child brain injury lawyer from our panel.
Claim For A Child Brain With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
If you have valid grounds to claim on behalf of a child for a brain injury, then you find it beneficial to seek support from a brain injury lawyer. If you contact our advisors, they may connect you with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel.
A solicitor from our panel may offer to support your child brain injury claim under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Under this type of agreement, you won’t need to pay upfront or ongoing fees for the solicitor’s services. You also don’t need to pay your solicitor for their services if your claim is unsuccessful.
If your claim is a success, then the No Win No Fee solicitor who helped with your claim can take a legally capped percentage from the compensation awarded to you. This is known as a success fee.
For more advice on getting support from a child brain injury lawyer on a No Win No Fee basis, please contact our advisors for free.
Contact Legal Helpline Today
At this stage, we recommend that you get in touch with us at Legal Helpline. Our helpful advisors could listen to your enquiry and assess the validity of the claim. Furthermore, a child brain injury lawyer from our panel could be appointed to handle your claim if it’s valid.
To get in touch with us today, you can:
- Telephone us on 0161 696 9685;
- Fill out our contact form;
- Or drop a message on our 24/7 Live Chat.
Head Injury Resources
We hope that you now know a lot about working with a child brain injury lawyer. We do appreciate, though, that you may wish for extra guidance. To that end, we have these additional resource links for you to take a look at.
First of all, we have a guide looking at whether you can claim for concussion.
We also have a general page on child accident claims.
Finally, we discuss how to claim compensation for a child that is hurt in a car accident.
The Brain Injury Rehabilitation Trust is a leading charity to assist with brain injury rehabilitation.
There’s also an NHS page on severe head injuries.
Finally, there’s NHS guidance on head injuries and concussions.
FAQs About Child Brain Injury Lawyers
Who could claim on behalf of a child?
A litigation friend could claim on behalf of a child. This is someone over the age of 18 who represents the child in court.
How long does the child have to claim?
Once the child turns 18, they would have three years in which to start their claim. Before they are 18, a litigation friend can claim for them at any point.
Thank you for reading our guide about working with a child brain injury lawyer.