By Jo Anderson. Last Updated 26th March 2024. If your child has had an accident at school and suffered an injury through no fault of their own, you could be entitled to make a personal injury claim on their behalf.
In this guide, we talk about child accident claims, specifically relating to schools. We explain the criteria for claiming and how we can help you.
If you’d like to discuss starting a claim right away, please call 0800 073 8801 today.
Select A Section
- Am I Eligible To Claim For My Child’s Accident At A School?
- Examples of School Accidents You Could Claim For
- Evidence For Accident At School Claims
- Examples Of Compensation For School Accident Claims
- No Win No Fee Agreements And Child Accident Claims
- Learn More About Claiming For An Accident At A School
Am I Eligible To Claim For My Child’s Accident At School?
To be eligible to make a school accident claim on behalf of your child, you would need to prove that your child suffered an injury due to the school breaching their duty of care.
Under the law, schools owe a duty of care to take practicably reasonable steps to ensure the safety of their pupils and anyone who visits their premises for its intended purposes. If a school were to breach this duty of care, and this caused your child to become injured, you may be eligible to make a personal injury claim on their behalf.
Furthermore, all personal injury claims must be made within the time limit that is set out in the Limitation Act 1980. Generally, you will have 3 years to start a claim from the date of the accident. However, for those under the age of 18, the time limit is paused until their 18th birthday. From this date, they will have until their 21st birthday to start a claim.
Alternatively, prior to their 18th birthday, a court-appointed litigation friend could make a claim on their behalf. This should be someone who will act in the child’s best interests. This could be a legal guardian, parent or lawyer, for example.
If you have any further questions regarding how to sue a school for negligence, you can contact one of our friendly advisors today.
Examples of School Accidents You Could Claim For
Some examples of what could lead to school accident claims are referenced in the sections below. A brief overview of the type of accident that could lead to a claim could include:
- Negligence in supervising children leading to them suffering an accident
- Abuse by teachers against children
- Playground accidents due to faulty equipment
- School trip accidents
- Teacher injuries from faulty equipment
- Slips, trips and falls due to poorly maintained grounds
If you believe you could have cause to launch an accident claim against the school, please contact our team. We would be only too happy to assess your case to see if you could have a valid claim.
Evidence For Accident At School Claims
Now we have discussed how to sue a school for negligence in the UK if your child has suffered an injury, you may now be wondering what evidence you will need when making an accident at school claim on behalf of your child. Some examples could include:
- Medical evidence – You will need to provide evidence of the injuries sustained in the accident. A copy of your child’s medical records detailing their injury and the treatment they received could be useful in this regard.
- Photographs of the accident scene or any visible injuries your child suffered.
- Any video footage of the accident taking place, such as CCTV footage.
- The contact details of anyone who witnessed your child’s accident, as they may be able to provide a statement at a later date.
- Evidence of any financial losses you have suffered due to your child’s injuries. For example, if you needed to take time off work to care for your child, you could present a copy of your payslips to prove these lost earnings.
If you have any questions, such as, ‘What to do if a child is injured at school in the UK?’ or if you would like free advice about making a child injury claim, you can contact our advisors.
Examples Of Compensation For School Accident Claims
Now you know how to sue a school for negligence in the UK, you might be wondering how much your child could receive in compensation for their injuries.
Every accident at school claim is different, and as such, must be assessed on its unique facts and circumstances. If the claim is successful, it could result in a payout that includes special and general damages.
General damages compensate for the child’s injuries and the pain and suffering they have caused them to experience. Those calculating general damages payouts could refer to the Judicial College Guidelines for assistance. The JCG provides guideline compensation amounts for various injuries at different severities.
The table below contains some compensation brackets from the 2022 JCG, but this is only rough guidance. Additionally, the first line of the table is not from the JCG.
| Injury | Severity | Compensation Range | Additional Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| A combination of severe injuries causing financial costs and losses. | Severe | Up to £550,000+ | Multiple severe injuries that cause suffering and pain as well as financial costs and losses, such as loss of income. |
| Neck | Severe (a) (i) | In the region of £148,330 |
Included in this range are injuries such as a severe neck injury resulting in incomplete paraplegia or injuries with the same outcome. |
| Neck | Minor (c) (i) | £4,350 to £7,890 | Included in this range are injuries such as soft tissue type injuries where recovery happens within 1 and 2 years. |
| Arms | Loss of one (b) (ii) | £109,650 to £130,930 | Included in this range are injuries such as an above the elbow amputation of one arm. |
| Arms | Moderate (c) | Up to £12,590 | Included in this range are injuries such as simple arm fractures, lacerations and most elbow fractures. |
| Back | Moderate (b) (i) | £27,760 to £38,780 | Included in this range are injuries such as fractures of the back (compression or crush fractures). |
| Back | Minor (c) (i) | £7,890 to £12,510 | Included in this range are injuries such as those where recovery occurs, without the need for any form of surgery, within 2 to 5 years. |
| Pelvis | Moderate (b) (i) | £26,590 to £39,170 | Included in this range are injuries such as a significant pelvis (or hip) injury with a permanent disability that is classed as minor. |
| Pelvis | Minor (c) (ii) | Up to £3,950 | Included in this range are injuries such as tissue damage where complete recovery occurs. |
| Shoulder | Severe (a) | £19,200 to £48,030 | Included in this range are injuries such as those connected with neck injuries and that include damage to the brachial plexus causing some form of significant disability. |
| Foot | Moderate (f) | £13,740 to £24,990 | Included in this range are injuries such as displaced metarsal fractures. |
| Foot | Modest (g) | Up to £13,740 | Included in this range are injuries such as simple metarsal fractures and puncture wounds. |
| Hand | Moderate (h) | £5,720 to £13,280 | Included in this range are injuries such as penetrating wounds and deep lacerations. |
Special damages compensate for the monetary costs and losses caused by the child’s injuries. This could include:
- Care costs – if you’ve had to pay for care at home for the child, these costs could be claimable.
- Medical expenses – if you’ve needed to pay for prescriptions for the child or for their mobility aids, for example, these costs could also be claimed under special damages.
- Travel costs – if you’ve paid for transport to get to solicitor’s meetings or medical appointments, these could also be included.
- Loss of income – if you have lost out on income because you’ve had to look after your child due to their injuries, you could potentially claim for your loss of earnings.
For a free valuation of your child’s injury claim, or get help with what to do if a child is injured at school in the UK, please contact an advisor.
What Happens To Compensation For Children?
When you make a personal injury claim on behalf of a child, you do not receive their compensation if it succeeds. Instead, it will be held in trust by the Court Funds Office (CFO) until the child turns eighteen.
You may withdraw funds by submitting an application. However, in order to do so, you’ll need to be able to prove that the money would be used for the child’s benefit. For example, if the funds are required to pay for a prosthetic or wheelchair, then an invoice or a doctor’s recommendation could be submitted as evidence.
In the weeks before your child turns eighteen, they’ll receive a letter or an email explaining how they can go about withdrawing their compensation.
To learn more about compensation awarded to a child injured at school, who is responsible and how to claim, contact our team of advisors today.
No Win No Fee Agreements And Child Accident Claims
Now that you have more insight into how to sue a school for negligence in the UK, you might be ready to start a claim on your child’s behalf.
One of our solicitors could offer to take on your accident at school claim under a No Win No Fee arrangement, provided you have a valid case. By offering you a Conditional Fee Agreement, which is a type of No Win No Fee arrangement, you typically won’t be expected to pay for their services either upfront or while the claim is ongoing. Additionally, if the claim is not successful, you won’t have to pay them for the work they have provided.
If the claim ends successfully, the solicitor working on the case will deduct a legally capped percentage from the compensation. This is known as a success fee.
To learn more about claiming with a No Win No Fee solicitor, or for advice on what to do if a child is injured at school in the UK, please don’t hesitate to contact an advisor. They can be reached via the following methods:
- Call 0800 073 8801
- Contact us online for a callback.
- Use the live chat.
Learn More About Claiming For An Accident At A School
You’ve now reached the end of this guide about school accident claims. To assist you further, we’ve included some further guides, links and other useful resources.
- School Health And Safety Responsibilities – A document outlining schools health and safety responsibilities from the Department for Education.
- Concussion And Head Injuries – This is a useful guide from the NHS that you might find useful if your child suffers a head injury in a school accident.
- Accident Report Books – Schools need to keep accident report books to log school accident cases. This guide from the Health and Safety Executive explains what to record and when to do so.
- Slip, Trip And Fall Claims – This guide could be useful for school accidents involving slips. It explains when negligence could be the cause and how much compensation might be paid.
- Playground Accident Claims – A guide that could help you claim if your child had an accident at school while on the playground.
- Bus Accident Cases – If your child had a school bus accident, you could find the information in this guide helpful.
Thank you for taking the time to read our guide accident at a school claims. We hope you’ve learned a lot about children’s accident at school claims. If you would like more insight on school accident claims, please call our team.