DS hit by car - can I claim compensation?

[Gremlin120808]

Hi wise ones.
My 6yr DS was crossing the road holding STBXH's hand. It was at a pedestrian crossing, the road is narrowed and the pavement has those bobbly things underfoot, but it's not a zebra crossing. They looked both ways (left,right,left...wrong way around), and stepped out. The wing mirror of the car hit DS's face. Nothing broken but a bloody nose, black eye and face and big swelling.
Police have dealt with the driver etc (who stopped and was very shaken), but can I claim compensation?? And how do I go about it??
I'm just glad he's alive and don't want to seem like I'm "grabbing", but is this a legitimate claim scenario???
I've never claimed for anything before so don't know what I'm doing!!!!

Sounds grabby. I can understand you are shocked and upset and want some sort of acknowledgement or apology (although I am not sure if his bad or the driver should be doing this) but asking for money seems very inappropriate.

in fact, if the driver has to have unpaid sick off work due to distress i wonder if they could claim from you?

You can claim for pain and suffering as well as just your financial losses.

But I don't see how this was anyone's fault other than your STBXH's; how was the driver negligent?

My DS was hit off his bike by a drunk driver ( 4 times over the limit). His bike ( competition one - so not cheap) is so damaged that it cannot be used & it will cost about £800 to replace (at feel sorry for you guys trade rates from the manufacturers). An ambulance was called, he needed to go to A&E withh a suspected broken leg.

He was awarded £100 by the courts and solicitors have advised that it is not really worth going for further compensation as it will cost as much in legal fees as he would get in compensation.

We have been really fortunate - DS is not permanently damaged and friends / manufactures donated bits (wheels, group set, helmet etc) have all chipped in to get him a new bike. We have lovely friends...

What happened to 'the pedestrian is always right'? Does that no longer apply? How on earth can the driver claim from a pedestrian when they were on a pedestrian crossing?

You can make a claim in your son's name for pain and suffering and for medical treatment etc.

'Pain and suffering' is often scoffed at because people claim it for emotional reasons, but your son suffered real pain after being hit in the face by a car. However, it's his claim, not yours.

There are plenty of no-win, no-fee solicitors who will look at this for you.

You can only claim compensation if the driver was at fault - i.e. if they have been negligent. If your DS and his Father stepped out into the road without looking properly, then the negligence is on their part not the driver.

Sounds very grabby but you could sue your Ex if you really wanted.

Eugh, what a horrible grabby post.

Honestly, why such bile? Who says the op's first thought was about money? I've no doubt her first thought was for her son's welfare. But she's established that he hasn't suffered any major injury so naturally she's turned her thoughts to who was to blame.

It's not at all clear to me though whether the driver or the adult pedestrian was to blame.

And it depends on what type of pedestrian crossing it was. If it was a pelican/toucan where vehicles should stop if a pedestrian is waiting to cross, then the driver was in the wrong. However if it was at a set of lights and the pedestrian signal (green man) hadn't activated, or if it was a dropped kerb where you wait for the road to be clear before crossing, then I think you'll struggle if they stepped out into the road without looking properly.

So if not a zebra crossing, should they not have been crossing-ie should have waited for lights to stop the traffic?

Why do you want compensation?

My son was knocked over by a car going through a red light at a crossing. Thankfully he was fine, and that was my only thought - thank goodness he wasn't seriously hurt, it could have been so much worse.

I've never even thought that I could claim compensation for it, that was the furthest thing from my mind.

So yeah, I'd say it does seem grabby.

i dont think pedstrian is always right applies when they step out into the path of an oncoming car?

imperial. Was it a pedestrian crossing though? OP says it was not a zebra crossing. So I'm not sure it was a pedestrian crossing. We have things like what she describes near me and they're not counted as pedestrian crossing, I always thought of them more as a traffic calming measure.

If you havent suffered financial loss then yes, you are being grabby.

According to this www.2pass.co.uk/crossing.htm there's six sorts of crossings in the UK

School crossing
Zebra crossing
Pelican crossing
Toucan crossing
Pegasus crossing
Puffin crossing

As it wasn't a zebra crossing then either it was a crossing with lights but the OP doesn't mention that and im sure she would have done or it wasn't a crossing at all. So then it boils down to pedestrians not looking properly and stepping off the pavement into the path of a car.

Was the driver charged or was it said that your son was at fault?

Why not be grateful he's ok instead of seeing it as an opportunity to make money

What kind of person even thinks of how to claim compensation when their child has been hurt!? Yuk.

How on earth are people making judgements about whose fault it was?! How can people know based on the information available? Weird.

there's a lot of ignorant posting on this thread

Unescorted Ypu should have got back the cost of any damage to the bike (through insurance who then claim it back) and the cost of any damage clothing or equipment. this should have happened in with the solicitors claim for uninsured losses (ifor it was covered through the insurance claim). probably too late to do anything about it now as the court probably ordered "full and final settlement"

OP- it's rather hard to tell from your OP whether you son and soon to be ex is at fault. I would put in a claim if there was any long running injury or any chance of needin help cosmetically or to the eyes. or if your son needed any form of counselling

it's not grabby that's just putting the damage right

actually I would assume the driver was at fault as it happened on a marked pedestrian crossing

im basing my judgement on the op saying they didnt look the right way before crossing, which is pretty key as to whose fault it was imo