Should I purse a personal injury claim for my child.

[flowerworld]

My child was injured at school, it was the schools fault. The injury itself was, I guess minor but did result in having to go to theatre and have general anaesthetic as well as a trip to a&e and again for scan and follow ups.

My question is if I should pursue a personal injury claim or leave it be. What are peoples general thoughts on pursuing this?

What monetary loss has your son/you suffered as a result of his injury?

No. Why would you?

Yes I would. Any compensation received will be held for your child gaining interest until they reach 18.

I don't know why people are asking what loss you've incurred, it's not about you it's about your child. A legal mechanism exists for claiming compensation for injury, there is nothing wrong with using that mechanism.

I would.

The courts will ask what you’re claiming for.

Its not as easy as just saying I broke my arm and want to be compensated.
You need to explain how it cost you money - eg unable to work, drive etc.

And then also try and prove the suffering and psychological impact.

Without knowing more detail it’s difficult for posters to advise.

If the child was at fault in any way or it was a random accident then it’s highly unlikely they’ll get anything.

OP can definitely go for it but I’ve heard it’s quite a stressful process.

Incorrect.

Yes, you can claim for the injury and don't have to show financial loss. Injury comes under General Damages and the scale of awards that can be made, or the 'value' of the injury is set out in The Judicial College Guidelines.

There is no requirement to evidence special loss (financial loss). You can claim psychiatric injury too, which I think is what you mean by suffering but you don't have to, and obviously you wouldn't if there was none.

It's also not that stressful, you consult a solicitor, they examine your case, if they think you have a good case they send a letter of claim to the insurers, try to get an acceptance of liability, then send you to a consultant for a medico legal report and then in most cases, settle. A claimant being partially at fault does not mean no award at all either. Obviously that's for any solicitor OP instructs to advise on.

OP you might start by checking your insurance policies to see if you have legal cover. It's also worth noting that a minor can claim until 3 years after their 18th birthday, but claims made while the injury is fresh as it were, generally attract higher awards.

Op may of had to leave work to pick her child up to take them to the hospital, she may of also had to take time off work for the follow up appointments

I have huge sympathy for schools and their financial circumstances, but

a) they have insurance for exactly this reason - they won’t pay out of school budgets

b) the child has suffered injury and civil/ compensatory remedy exists for a reason. Parent may also have suffered secondary financial loss with time off work etc
c) it may well put a rocket up the Academy Trust/ Local Authority re: maintenance and ensure similar accidents are avoided in future

Your child suffered injury because of negligence. If you would claim from a private company or the council (many would) then don't let the fact it's a school put you off. They will have insurance. If there is a legal mechanism for compensation it is because they should not be able to abdicate responsibility for a child on their care being injured through their inaction.

It should be covered by insurance

I would certainly want to see evidence that proper reports had been made especially as your child ended up in hospital

In what way was it the school’s fault? Are you saying it wasn’t an accident? Surely not.

School will have insurance for this sort of thing. Your child will have until they’re 21 to bring a claim so there’s no rush to decide!

The child does not have to have suffered any loss to be eligible for damages. I wish people on MN wouldn't keep perpetuating this myth.

Nonsense. Schools have insurance to cover precisely this sort of liability.

It wouldn't be depriving the school of cash. If anything, it would be their insurance company being deprived.

MN's armchair lawyers are vociferously wrong on this topic all of the time. The mention of a PI claim gets them all frothing!

OP's child is fully entitled to damages for pain and suffering and inconvenience. An injury which has required surgery and ongoing scans etc is likely to have long-lasting effects of one sort or another.

The child is likely to be entitled to quite substantial damages for shock, ongoing pain and suffering, and inconvenience, irrespective of whether OP has had any financial costs. In the fairly likely event of further problems in future, e.g. arthritis where a bone has been broken, that also would be taken into account.

A school can be at fault for accidents caused as a result of their negligence.

Again, not true in relation to the supposed requirement for long term implications. Obviously damages go to the child, and have to be preserved till they are an adult - why would OP object to that?

Seriously , why do people try to advise on this sort of topic when they blatantly know nothing about it?

You keep it open until they are 18

The question though was "Should I?" not "am I entitled to?" or "could I?" or "do I have a right to?" and the OP asked what people's thoughts are on whether she should.

"Should" is a morally loaded word - most of us gave our thoughts (as requested) i.e. opinions on whether she should not whether she is legally entitled or whether she could . If she wants legal advice she's obviously in the wrong place, and it's not what she asked.

You don't get to scold everyone for answering the question as asked.

If you can demonstrate that the school was at fault then of course you can make a claim and it will be covered by their insurance. The teachers won't be having a whip round or needing to sell the kids' sports equipment to pay you.
There is a tendency to assume claimants are lying or exaggerating and that there is something morally dubious or distasteful about making a personal injury claim. But if you have a legitimate claim and are honest throughout the process then why not? That is what insurance is for when all said and done.
But, I would advise you to be realistic with your expectations. There is a component awarded for pain and suffering, but it may not actually be very much. I was seriously injured in an accident that was someone else's fault. I suffered life changing injuries and lost my job as a result. I did eventually get a sizeable pay out but it was almost all about lost earnings. I had some private healthcare so that was covered but the element for my actual injuries was pretty paltry, even though I'm left with lifelong pain. My solicitor told me that people often have rather unrealistic expectations about what injuries are "worth" and that large claims are usually only when long term care is needed or to cover substantial loss of earnings.
And it was a long and unpleasant experience where the other side tried very hard to discredit me, even though their client had admitted everything and been convicted of a criminal offence. Now I can't imagine things would get that nasty with a child's claim, or at least I hope not, but just be aware that these things can be long and not as straightforward as you might think they should be.
I would take legal advice and find out what you can reasonably expect to happen and then decide whether you feel the likely benefits are worth going through the process. I actually hated it, but I wasn't going to shrug my shoulders and put down to bad luck the fact that I'd gone from healthy and well paid to disabled and jobless when someone else had caused it. If it had been a small amount of money I might not have bothered, but then if it hadn't been much maybe they'd have paid up without much of a fight? Ask an expert. I know personal injury lawyers have a bad reputation but mine was actually a decent bloke who I felt was realistic and told it like it was.

If a claim is made then the insurers may well be pushing the school to improve things.

Someone I know who worked in manufacturing said that what concerned them wasnt a HSE Inspection it was the Insurance Inspector

Pain and suffering and loss of amenity is compensatable.
I would claim. The LA will have public liability insurance which pays.
Check your household insurance for legal cover.