If your child has been injured - through a road accident, a negligent birth, substandard medical care, a school incident, a dog bite, or any other circumstance where someone else was to blame - they have a legal right to claim compensation. Because a child under 18 can't run a claim themselves, English civil procedure sets up a framework that lets a parent (or another appropriate adult) act on their behalf. This guide explains exactly how that works.
If your child has been injured - through a road accident, a negligent birth, substandard medical care, a school incident, a dog bite, or any other circumstance where someone else was to blame - they have a legal right to claim compensation. Because a child under 18 can't run a claim themselves, English civil procedure sets up a framework that lets a parent (or another appropriate adult) act on their behalf. This guide explains exactly how that works.
The short version: you act as a 'litigation friend' under Part 21 of the Civil Procedure Rules; every settlement has to be approved by a court to make sure it's fair; and the money is held in trust until your child turns 18. The full version is below. Every claim we handle is on a no win, no fee basis.
Who can claim on behalf of a child - the 'litigation friend'
A child (anyone under 18) can only bring a civil claim through a 'litigation friend' - an adult who runs the claim on their behalf under Civil Procedure Rules Part 21. The litigation friend is usually a parent, but can also be:
- A step-parent.
Under CPR 21.4, a person can act as a litigation friend if they (a) can fairly and competently conduct proceedings on behalf of the child, (b) have no interest adverse to that of the child, and (c) undertake to pay any costs the child is ordered to pay (subject to a right to be reimbursed from the child's assets). There's no formal qualification or test - it's an administrative step. Your solicitor handles the paperwork.
Time limits for a child's claim - and why you shouldn't wait
Under section 28 of the Limitation Act 1980, the three-year limitation period for a personal injury claim is suspended until the child's 18th birthday. The child then has three years - until their 21st birthday - to bring the claim themselves.
In theory, this means you can wait until your child is 18 before doing anything. In practice, you almost always shouldn't:
- Evidence degrades. Witnesses move, forget, and sometimes die. CCTV is overwritten. Accident book entries get lost. Medical records are harder to obtain years later.
For serious birth injury, severe head injury, amputation, or any significantly disabling condition, start the claim as soon as possible. See time limits for the detail.
The claims process for children - how it's different
Step 1: Free eligibility call
Same as any claim. A specialist takes an account from you (the parent), maps the defendant, and confirms the time limit - which is essentially 'no hurry' for children, but evidence-gathering matters.
Step 2: Instruction and litigation friend paperwork
You sign the CFA as litigation friend on the child's behalf. A short certificate of suitability (under CPR 21.5) is filed to confirm your status.
Step 3: Investigation and medical evidence
Standard investigation (records, evidence, witnesses) followed by specialist medical evidence. For serious child injuries, the medical evidence often involves multiple experts - paediatric neurologist, paediatric orthopaedic surgeon, educational psychologist, care expert - to build a full picture of lifetime needs.
Step 4: Negotiation
Same as any claim. Your solicitor negotiates on the child's behalf. You instruct on offers - your decision, with your solicitor's advice.
Step 5: Infant Approval Hearing (unique to child and protected-party claims)
Here's where child claims differ. No settlement of a child's claim is legally valid until it has been approved by a court (CPR 21.10). A short hearing - the 'Infant Approval Hearing' - is listed, at which:
- A judge reviews the medical evidence, the proposed settlement figure, and the costs breakdown.
The hearing is usually short - 30 minutes to an hour - and the child is typically not required to attend. The parent-as-litigation-friend may or may not need to attend depending on the judge. The outcome is binding: once approved, the settlement can't be reopened.
What happens to the settlement money
The court's role isn't finished when the settlement is approved. For child claims, the court also directs how the money is held:
Court Funds Office investment
By default, settlement funds for a child are invested with the Court Funds Office - a specialist account managed by the government. Funds earn interest (currently at a court-set rate), and income can be released to the litigation friend for the child's benefit during minority (for care, equipment, education, holidays, etc.).
The capital is released to the child when they turn 18 - unless the court directs otherwise.
Personal Injury Trust
In larger claims, or where the child will retain long-term benefits-based support, the court may approve the creation of a Personal Injury Trust (PIT) to hold the settlement. A PIT has two benefits:
- Means-tested benefits (Universal Credit etc.) disregard PIT assets in the capital limit calculation.
See personal injury trusts for detail.
Periodical Payment Orders (PPOs) for catastrophic cases
In very serious cases - severe brain injury, cerebral palsy, paraplegia - part of the settlement may take the form of a Periodical Payment Order: an index-linked annual payment for life, on top of a lump sum. PPOs remove the risk of the settlement running out mid-life and are usually arranged where long-term care is a major component. The court approves the PPO structure as part of the hearing.
Release after 18 - or later in some cases
The default position is release of the capital (and any accumulated interest) to the child at age 18. In specific circumstances - usually where the injury has left the claimant without capacity to manage their own affairs, but sometimes where a court considers a more gradual release appropriate - the court can direct staggered release, extended Court Funds Office management, or a professional deputyship (under the Mental Capacity Act 2005). Your solicitor advises on the right structure.
Will compensation affect the child's (or the family's) benefits?
It can. A lump-sum compensation payment held as capital can push the child over the means-tested capital threshold for future benefits such as Universal Credit (when they reach working age), Personal Independence Payment capital considerations, or Disability Living Allowance capital considerations. A Personal Injury Trust is the standard solution - funds held in a properly-constituted PIT are disregarded for means-testing purposes. Your solicitor considers this before settlement.
See personal injury trusts for the full explanation.
The types of child injury claim we handle
- Birth injuries - cerebral palsy, Erb's palsy, HIE, birth trauma. See birth injury claims.
What can you recover for a child?
The full range of damages available to any adult, with the addition of some child-specific heads:
- General damages - for the injury itself, under the Judicial College Guidelines 17th edition. See how much compensation.
Total settlements in catastrophic child injury cases (severe CP, major brain injury, bilateral amputation) routinely reach multiple millions over the lifetime, often split between a lump sum and a PPO.
How is it funded? No win, no fee
Every child claim we take on is run on a Conditional Fee Agreement. No upfront fees, no hourly bills. If the claim wins, the success fee is capped at 25% of general damages and past losses; future losses (which typically dominate serious child injury claims) sit outside the cap. If it fails, you pay nothing (subject to CFA and ATE terms). Full detail in no win no fee explained.
What if I, the parent, am the potential defendant?
This happens - a child injured in a car accident where a parent was driving, for example. The parent can't act as litigation friend where there's a conflict of interest. In that situation, another family member, or a solicitor-appointed litigation friend, is instead appointed. The claim against the parent's insurer proceeds normally.
Adults lacking capacity - 'protected parties'
The same CPR 21 framework applies to any adult claimant who lacks the mental capacity to conduct the litigation themselves (within the meaning of the Mental Capacity Act 2005). Common scenarios: severe brain injury, advanced dementia, significant learning disability. A deputy appointed by the Court of Protection, or a family member as litigation friend, runs the claim and approves settlement on the claimant's behalf - subject to court approval. The Limitation Act 1980 clock doesn't run while capacity is absent.
