At Sintons we have a Child Serious Injury Team who can help you if your child has suffered a life changing injury

Child Serious Injury

At Sintons we have a Child Serious Injury Team who can help you if your child has suffered a life changing injury. Our team has national coverage across the UK, with offices in Newcastle, Leeds, Sheffield, York and London.

We are paediatric specialists who are experienced in helping kids and their families following a brain injury, spinal cord injury, or other serious injury such as orthopaedic injury, burns, internal injuries or psychological injury.

We support families to bring personal injury claims on behalf of their injured child, and seek early access to privately funded, and personalised rehabilitation which includes support, medical overview and therapy.

Our specialist Child Serious Injury Team is here to support families through every stage of your child’s journey following injury. We understand how overwhelming the uncertainty can feel for you but our aim in supporting you and your child to bring a claim is to give your child the very best chance to grow, recover and thrive.

When bringing a claim on behalf of a child, it is important to start work with the child and their family as soon as possible. Capturing evidence relating to the accident or collision circumstances at an early stage is crucial. We work closely with a number of organisations including hospitals and the police, to ensure that we obtain all relevant evidence and information to pursue a claim on behalf of a child. This can include photographs, witness evidence, and video footage. Early evidence capture can make a significant difference to the outcome of the claim. In addition, throughout the claim we work closely with your child’s family, friends, teachers and coaches to ensure that we truly understand what really matters to your child, and what it is that they want from their future.

Sintons is a full service law firm, and throughout any claim we work closely together with colleagues in our Court of Protection, Wills, Trusts & Estates, Employment, Business and Property teams to ensure that the entirety of your child’s and wider family’s needs are met following a life changing event.

To begin a personal injury compensation claim or obtain further advice with no obligation contact Sintons 24/7.

If your child has been injured, the important information you need be aware of is as follows:

There are specific timescales in relation to issuing Court Proceedings in personal injury claims

Under the Civil Procedure Rules, a child (i.e. a person under the age of 18) is considered to be a Protected Party. Protected Parties cannot conduct litigation themselves and must act through a litigation friend who makes decisions in the proceedings on their behalf. Children are automatically treated as protected parties because the law recognises that they do not have the required mental capacity to conduct litigation independently until they reach the age of 18. The limitation period for bringing Court Proceedings in a personal injury claim does not begin to run against a child until their 18th birthday. As a result where a claim, such as a personal injury claim, is subject to a three-year limitation period, a child generally has until their 21st birthday to commence Proceedings.

Early Access to Rehabilitation is important

Early access to rehabilitation, following a traumatic brain injury or other serious injury, is crucial to maximise recovery and potentially reduce the long-term effects of the injury. Ensuring that those involved in the child’s day-to-day life, including family members, friends, carers and teachers, are made aware of the injury, enables consistent support, appropriate adjustments and a better understanding of the child’s needs. This helps to create a supportive environment both at home and in education.

Prompt multidisciplinary intervention, including occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, psychology, and case management, can help identify and address physical, cognitive, behavioural, and emotional difficulties before they become entrenched.

Early rehabilitation also supports the development of appropriate coping strategies, enables an appropriately paced and successful return to education or a transition to independent living where possible, and can reduce the risk of social isolation and deterioration in mental health.

Overall, timely rehabilitation is widely recognised as improving long-term outcomes and enhancing children’s quality of life following an injury.