School Accident Claims - Can I Claim On Behalf Of My Child?
A Guide To Making An Accident at School Claim
We pride ourselves on offering access to justice and a quality compensation recovery service. To help us achieve that, we offer No Win No Fee agreements in all cases that we take on.

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School Accident Claims - Can I Claim On Behalf Of My Child?
A Guide To Making An Accident at School Claim
We pride ourselves on offering access to justice and a quality compensation recovery service. To help us achieve that, we offer No Win No Fee agreements in all cases that we take on.

Welcome to our guide on school accident claims and how to seek compensation on behalf of your child. At JF Law, we fully appreciate what a distressing and difficult situation your child being injured is. That’s why we’ve explained the ins and outs of claiming compensation following such an incident.
We’ll cover important aspects of the claims process including: the eligibility criteria, some illustrative examples of potential accidents, who could claim on behalf of another person and how personal injury compensation in school accident claims is calculated.
In the final section, we look at the No Win No Fee contract offered by our dedicated personal injury solicitors, focusing on how you can benefit when claiming for your child’s injuries under these terms.
To get a zero-cost, no obligation assessment of your eligibility to claim compensation, get in touch with our advisors today using the following contact information:
- Call us on 0151 375 9916.
- Alternatively you can contact us by completing our callback form.

Can I Claim Against A School For My Child’s Accident?
The responsibilities and duties for schools regarding health and safety apply both in school and during out of school activities. There is a common law duty imposed on school staff when in charge of pupils to take reasonable steps and measures to prevent these children from coming to harm.
The eligibility criteria to begin a claim against a school are as follows:
- The school owed your child a duty of care.
- There was a breach of this duty.
- This breach resulted in an accident in which your child was injured.
Contact our advisory team today to discuss accident at school claims and find out if you could be eligible to claim on behalf of your child.
Common Types Of Accidents You Can Claim For
Various types of accidents could occur on school grounds. We have provided a few examples in the sections below. We should emphasise that these are by no means the only accidents that could occur, so for a free assessment of your eligibility to begin an accident at school claim, talk to our advisors today.
Accidents On The Playground
A failure to carry out maintenance inspections on the play equipment resulted in a loose fittings on the monkey bars being missed. The bar fell and hit your child on the head, causing a serious concussion.
Slips, Trips And Falls
A leaking pipe in a school corridor created a slip a hazard. The school failed to take prompt action to repair the damage and no warning sign was placed. Your child slipped on the wet floor and fell, spraining their ankle and suffering substantial injury to their face.
Food Poisoning
A lack of food hygiene training meant canteen staff failed to properly clean work surfaces during lunch preparation. The resulting cross contamination caused several children, including yours, to contract severe food poisoning.
Our team is available 24/7 to answer your questions and provide a free eligibility assessment. Talk to us today about school accident claims using the contact details given below.

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Claiming On The Behalf Of Your Child
Persons under 18 cannot make a claim themselves. The Limitation Act 1980 places a 3 year time limit on personal injury claims, counted from their 18th birthday in cases of injured children.
A parent, guardian or other suitable adult, however, can apply to act as the child’s litigation friend. This gives that adult the power to make decisions regarding the claim on behalf of the child as well as begin the claims process much sooner. You can find out more about claiming on behalf of another person by contacting our advisory team.
Can I Claim For An Accident Outside Of School?
The duty of care schools owe to the children in their charge extends to out of school activities. So if your child is injured at a club, on a school trip or a sports event, you could be eligible to begin a claim on their behalf depending on the circumstances.
As an example, during a primary school trip a teacher failed to maintain an adequate level of supervision over the children they were responsible for. Consequently, your child crossed the road and was hit by a car.
You can inquire further about claiming for an accident that occurred outside of school premises by talking to our advisory team. Simply call the number above, or fill in a contact form today.
We pride ourselves
on providing the best service
possible for our clients.
We pride ourselves on providing the best service possible for our clients.
How Much Compensation You Could Get
Compensation in personal injury claims can be awarded under two separate heads of loss. These are:
- General damages: which compensate for the pain and suffering caused by the accident.
- Special damages: this compensates for the financial harm caused by the injuries. We’ll examine this in greater detail in a later section.
During the claims process, our solicitors can use your medical evidence in conjunction with the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to determine a potential compensation figure. The JCG publication contains guideline award brackets for various types of injury.
We have taken some of these figures and created the below table. It is important we state that the first entry is not a JCG figure.
Compensation Table
Please be aware that this information has been provided for guidance only.
Type of Injury | Severity | Guideline Compensation Figure | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Multiple Very Severe Injuries with Special Damages | Very Severe | Up to £1,000,000 + | The child will have sustained multiple very severe injuries and substantial expenses, such as medical and care needs, home adaptations and a loss of parental income will have been incurred. |
Brain Damage | Moderate (c)(i) | £183,190 to £267,340 | Moderate to severe intellectual deficit, sensory impact and personality shift with a significant epilepsy risk. |
Less Severe (d) | £18,700 to £52,550 | While a good recovery will have been made, there may be persistent problems with concentration and memory. | |
Epilepsy | Established Grand Mal (a) | £124,470 to £183,190 | Epilepsy awards are determined by the effectiveness of medication, associated behavioural issues and the impact on work/social life. |
Digestive System | Non-traumatic Injury (i) | £46,900 to £64,070 | Severe toxicosis causing fever, vomiting diarrhoea and acute pain requiring hospital admissions for some days or weeks. |
Non-traumatic Injury (ii) | £11,640 to £23,430 | Serious but short lived food poisoning, vomiting and diarrhoea lasting lasting between 2 and 4 weeks. | |
Facial Disfigurement | Less Severe Scarring (b) | £21,920 to £59,090 | Substantial disfigurement with a significant psychological impact. |
Significant Scarring (c) | £11,120 to £36,720 | The worst effects will have been reduced by surgery. Any psychological impact will have diminished to a minor level. | |
Ankle Injuries | Moderate (c) | £16,770 to £32,450 | Ligament tears, fractures and similar injuries causing less serious disabilities such as difficulty walking on uneven ground or stairs. |
Modest Injuries (d) | Up to £16,770 | Less serious, minor or undisplaced fractures or soft tissue damage. |
Special Damages
As we said above, special damages can be awarded for financial harm that results from your child’s injuries. We have provided a few examples here:
- Loss of earnings due to time taken off work to care for your child.
- Prescription medications or other medical bills.
- Any professional care they require.
- Assistance in the home with domestic duties such as meal preparation, cleaning or maintaining outside space.
- Accessibility modifications to your home, such as ramps, a stairlift or an accessible shower.
You will need to provide proof of any financial losses you are claiming for so make sure you retain your payslips, as well as other documentation such as receipts, invoices, and other bills.
This section is intended to act as guidance only. For a free assessment of your eligibility, and to get a more detailed idea of what your potential claim could be worth, get in touch with our team today. You can reach our advisors at any time using the contact information given below.
Starting A School Accident Claim
Starting a school accident claim with JF Law is straightforward and hastle free. Simply get in touch over the phone or via our contact form, and one of our advisors will assess your potential claim.
You’ll be asked a series of questions regarding what happened, what injuries your child sustained and how the school failed to keep your child safe. If our advisors think you have a valid claim, you’ll then be connected with a highly experienced solicitor who will handle your case.
Gathering Evidence
A key part of any personal injury claim is gathering sufficient evidence to prove your injuries were caused by a third party.
Gathering evidence is one of the many tasks one of our solicitors could assist you with during the claims process. We have set out a few examples of evidence they could help you collect here:
- Medical records showing what injuries your child sustained, such as copies of x-rays, test results and examination notes.
- Make sure you have the contact information of potential witnesses so their statements can be taken during the claims process.
- You can request copies of the CCTV footage of the accident if it’s available. The school may need consent from parents of other children in the footage before releasing it.
To find out if you’re eligible to claim and work with one of our personal injury specialists, contact our advisory team today.
How Our Solicitors Can Help
You are not required to use a solicitor for your school accident claim. There are, however, several advantages to doing so. You’ll benefit from the knowledge and experience of a trained legal professional and not have to complete a series of complex procedures on your own.
Tasks one of our solicitors could help you with include:
- Keeping you informed of all developments during the claims process.
- Breaking through the legal language barrier by explaining all the jargon.
- Calculating a compensation figure.
- Ensuring all court instructions and relevant deadlines are met.
- Negotiating a final compensation settlement.
The No Win No Fee contract our specialist solicitors can offer their services under is called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). The advantages to using such a contract for your claim include:
- No fees to pay for the solicitor to start work on your claim.
- Additionally, there’ll be no fees for this work during the claim itself.
- Lastly, if the claim does not succeed, you will not incur any fees for your solicitor’s services.
Personal injury compensation will be paid out in the event of a successful claim. The solicitor will take their success fee from this, capped at 25% by The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013. This means that your child will receive the majority of any compensation that is paid out.

More Information
To get a zero cost, no obligation assessment of your eligibility to claim compensation, get in touch with our advisors today using the following contact information:
- Call us on 0151 375 9916.
- Alternatively you can contact us by completing our callback form.
You can read some of our personal injury claims guides here:
- Find out if you could claim for a lift breaking down causing you injury here.
- Check the eligibility requirements to claim for a roofer accident with this guide.
- If you are involved in an accident with an uninsured driver, you could be eligible for compensation. Click here to learn more.
We have also included these external resources for additional information:
- Find out when to go to A&E with this guidance from the NHS.
- You have the right to request copies of CCTV footage that you appear in. Find out more on the government website.
- Read the Health and Safety Executive guidance on health and safety management in schools here.
We’d like to thank you for reading our accident at school claims guide. To find out more about starting a claim, talk to our advisors today using the contact information given above.
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