• You are here :
• Loyalty Law
• » Accidents in Scotland
• » How Long to Claim?

How long does my child have to pursue a personal injury claim following an accident?

Children - i.e. those under the age of 16 - are not able to bring a claim in their own right. If a child is injured as a result of someone else’s negligence and they, or their parent or guardian, wish to make a claim there are two options available. The child’s claim can be made before they reach the age of 16, in which case they must conduct the proceedings through a representative (usually their parent or guardian) known as a ‘litigation friend’. As the general rule in personal injury cases is that a claim being made by an adult must be made within 3 years of the date of the accident, where the Claimant is a child the three year time limit starts from the date of their 16th birthday (i.e. the date they reach maturity) which means they have until their 19th birthday to make a claim. Therefore the second option is for the Claimant to wait until he or she reaches maturity before pursuing a claim.

Example

Child T was injured in a car accident at the age of 8 and suffered severe cuts and bruises to his face resulting in significant scarring.

Scenario 1

Child T’s mother decides to pursue a claim on her son’s behalf. She contacts a solicitor within a week of the accident and the solicitor takes on the claim. Over time, the child visits medical professionals who treat and advise on the child’s injuries and prepare a conclusive medical report. Negotiations take place between the child’s solicitor and the solicitor for the other side and an amount of full and final compensation is agreed on. The matter is put before a Judge to ensure the settlement is fair and, the Judge agrees that it is, and the matter is concluded.

Scenario 2

Child T’s parents decide that it should be up to him, when he becomes an adult, to decide whether to make a claim for compensation for his injuries. Child T receives the appropriate medical treatment and surgery following the accident but no legal action is taken. Upon reaching the age of 16, Child T (now legally an adult) decides that he would like to pursue compensation for the injuries he suffered as a child. He contacts a solicitor who advises him that he is still within his rights to pursue a claim and has until his or her 19th birthday to have either agreed settlement of the claim or to have issued court proceedings.

Why choose Loyalty Law for your Child Accident Claim?

All Loyalty Law solicitors are checked and vetted to ensure that they meet our criteria in the following ways :-

• Before they can start working with us and for you, they are individually interviewed by our managing director, a solicitor himself (although no longer practising). He is quickly able to assess whether they have the legal skills, but also whether they are easy to speak with on the telephone and will give you the confidence to believe in the service that you deserve.
• At the end of every legal matter that a Loyalty Law solicitor handles for one of our clients, we carry out an interview with the client to ensure that they have been completely satisfied with the service. This ensures that not only does the solicitor start off by providing an excellent service when he joins us, but through your feedback they continue to achieve the right service levels and continue to make you happy. This is important to us and is one of the reasons why we believe Loyalty Law is the right place for you to choose your solicitor.

Make A Quick Enquiry?

Why not make a free enquiry now by contacting us in one of the following ways to find out if and how much you can claim (no cost and no obligation to proceed, we are here to help):-

1. Arrange for us to call you back – » Click To Request A Call Back.
2. Call us free on 0800 142 2775 between the hours of 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm on Saturday and 8am to 5.30pm on Sunday; or
3. Provide us with some details and one of our Loyalty Law solicitors will be in touch with you – make a Quick Enquiry now.