If your child has been injured while on school premises, you may wonder if you could claim compensation on their behalf. You may also wonder if you could make an accident at school claim if you were injured as a teacher. This guide explains when a personal injury claim could be made following a school accident.
Additionally, we look at potential causes of school accidents, how long you have to make a compensation claim and how you could claim compensation on behalf of your child. We also look at the types of evidence that could support your claim and how compensation may be calculated for accident at school claims.
Lastly, we look at how No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel could help you with making a personal injury compensation claim.
If, after finishing this guide, you have any questions about claiming compensation following a school injury or about starting a public liability claim, you can contact our dedicated team of advisors:
- Contact us by calling 0333 000 0729
- Contact us online.
- Or you can speak to us using the live chat below.
Jump To A Section
- Can I Make An Accident At School Claim On Behalf Of My Child?
- Can I Make A School Accident Claim As A Member Of Staff?
- What Are Common Causes Of Accidents At School?
- How Long Do I Have To Make An Accident At School Claim?
- What Evidence Can Help In A School Accident Claim?
- How Much School Accident Compensation Could I Receive?
- How Will My Child Receive Accident At School Compensation?
- Make A No Win No Fee School Accident Compensation Claim
- Read More About Making Personal Injury Claims
Can I Make An Accident At School Claim On Behalf Of My Child?
While your child is at school and on school premises, the school owes them a duty of care to take any necessary steps and measures to ensure their reasonable safety.
Steps they may take to ensure the safety of pupils may include, but are not limited to:
- Performing regular or necessary maintenance on buildings and facilities such as the school’s structure, flooring, playground equipment, etc.
- Carrying out risk assessments on a regular basis and addressing any potential hazards these identify.
If your child suffered an injury while at school, you may be able to make an accident at school claim on their behalf. However, you would need to prove that the following criteria applied to the case:
- Your child was owed a duty of care by the school.
- They breached this duty of care, e.g. they failed to repair faulty playground equipment.
- Your child was injured due to this breach.
To see whether you could be eligible to make a personal injury compensation claim on your child’s behalf, you can contact our advisors.
Can I Make A School Accident Claim As A Member Of Staff?
In addition to owing a duty of care towards pupils, a school will also owe a duty of care towards members of staff (including teachers, teaching assistants, catering staff, cleaners and other workers). As an employer, they have a duty of care to take reasonable steps to help prevent their staff members from coming to harm. This duty of care is set out in the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
If you were injured in an accident at school as a staff member, you could be eligible to make a personal injury claim if you can prove that your injuries were caused by the school breaching their duty of care towards you as your employer.
To learn more about making an accident at school claim as a staff member, you can contact one of the advisors on our team.
What Are Common Causes Of Accidents At School?
There are various different accidents that a child could be involved in at school that leave them with an injury. Some examples could include:
- Slips, trips and falls on school property. For example, cleaners in the school do not set out a wet floor sign after mopping a corridor. This could lead to a child slipping and suffering an ankle injury.
- Playground accidents. For example, a school fails to regularly maintain some climbing equipment on the school playground. This results in it collapsing upon use and a school child suffers multiple injuries in the accident, including a head injury and broken arm.
- Faulty or defective school equipment. Schools should ensure that they are providing safe equipment for children to use and preparing or replacing any faulty equipment. A child could suffer a back injury after falling off a known faulty school chair that had not been replaced, for example.
These are only a few examples. To see whether you could make an accident at school claim on behalf of your child, you can contact our team today.
How Long Do I Have To Make An Accident At School Claim?
The limitation period for injury claims is generally three years from when the accident took place, as stated in the Limitation Act 1980.
However, if your child has been injured in a school accident, they will be unable to start their own claim until they become an adult (they turn 18).
Prior to them turning 18, you could apply to the court to be appointed as a litigation friend and make a claim on their behalf. As their litigation friend, you will be expected to act in their best interests.
To learn more about the time limits that apply for child accident claims, or to learn about the other exceptions that apply to the personal injury claim limitation period, you can contact our advisors.
What Evidence Can Help In A School Accident Claim?
A common question about child personal injury claims is, ‘What evidence could be used to support my child’s claim?’.
The evidence that is gathered needs to demonstrate that the school breached their duty of care, and due to this an injury was suffered. Some examples of evidence that could be gathered following your child’s accident could include:
- Medical records and X-rays highlighting the injuries suffered and the medical treatment obtained.
- The details of anyone who witnessed the accident so they can provide a statement.
- Any photographs of the accident scene or injuries suffered.
- CCTV footage of the accident taking place.
- A copy of the report in the school accident report book.
If you choose to make a school accident claim with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel they could help you to collect evidence to support your case. Contact us to learn more about the school accident claims process and how our panel of solicitors could help you.
How Much School Accident Compensation Could I Receive?
The first thing we should note when looking at how much accident at school compensation may be awarded, is that each and every claim will be slightly different. Awards in personal injury compensation claims may be made up of two parts. These are
- General damages. This is compensation awarded for pain and suffering caused by the injuries.
- Special damages. This compensation is awarded for the wider and financial impact of the injuries.
When calculating a general damages payout, the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) may be used for guidance. This document sets out guidelines on how much compensation may be awarded for different types of injury at varying degrees of severity.
In the table below, we have provided some of these compensation guidelines for various injuries that may be suffered in a school accident. However, the first entry has not been taken from the JCG.
Compensation Guidelines
| Injury | Severity | Notes | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple serious injuries + special damages. | Serious | A compensation award for multiple serious injuries and special damages for lost wages, care costs and other financial losses. | Up to £1,000,000+ |
| Brain damage | Moderately severe - B | The person is left substantially dependent on other people and may experience physical and cognitive disabilities. | £267,340 to £344,150 |
| Hips/ pelvis | Severe - A (ii) | Fracture dislocation of the pelvis which involves the pubic rami and ischial bones. | £75,550 to £95,680 |
| Arm injuries | Less severe - C | Whilst there have been significant disabilities, a substantial degree of recovery has taken place. | £23,430 to £47,810 |
| Back injuries | Moderate - B (i) | This bracket includes a wide variety of injuries, such as crush or compression fractures of the lumbar vertebrae. | £33,880 to £47,320 |
| Leg injuries | Less serious - C (i) | An fracture from which the person makes an incomplete recovery. | £21,920 to £33,880 |
| Shoulder injuries | Serious - B | Examples may include a dislocated shoulder with damage to the lower brachial plexus. | £15,580 to £23,430 |
| Knee injuries | Moderate - B (ii) | Torn ligament and fractures resulting in less serious disability. | Up to £16,770 |
| Wrist injury | Fracture or soft tissue injury - D | Recovery from a fracture or soft tissue injury which takes longer than 12 months. | £7,420 to £12,630 |
Special damages
As previously mentioned, compensation could also be awarded under special damages. Examples of costs and losses you could claim for under this heading include:
- Loss of earnings.
- Adaptations to a home or vehicle.
- Medical treatment, care or medication.
- Travel costs.
- At-home care.
- Equipment needed to cope with your injuries.
When making a claim for special damages, evidence will need to be presented of these costs. This could include invoices, bank statements and payslips.
Find out more about what special damages your school accident claim could include by contacting a member of our team.
How Will My Child Receive Accident At School Compensation?
If you make a successful accident at school claim on behalf of your child, the compensation they are awarded will be placed into a trust by the Court Funds Office (CFO) until their 18th birthday.
Once they turn 18, and application can be made to the CFO for their funds to be transferred and released to them.
Applications could be made to withdraw money from this trust to benefit the child prior to this date. For example, if you have to pay for your child’s medical treatments, you may be able to make a withdrawal.
Contact our advisors today to learn more about how compensation is awarded in child accident claims.
Make A No Win No Fee School Accident Compensation Claim
If your child has been injured in nursery school, primary school or high school, one of the expert solicitors on our panel could help you with making a claim on their behalf. If one of the solicitors on our panel take on your case, they could help you with gathering evidence, negotiating compensation, and guiding you through the claims process.
Additionally, they could support you on a No Win No Fee basis under the terms of a Conditional Fee Agreement. Under this type of agreement, a solicitor can provide their services to you without you needing to make a payment upfront or while it progresses for them.
At the end of your claim, if you are awarded compensation you will pay a success fee. This is a set percentage of your compensation, and the percentage is legally limited. If your case fails, there is nothing to pay for your solicitor’s services.
To see whether a solicitor on our panel could assist you with making an accident at school claim, you can contact our advisors:
- Contact us by calling 0333 000 0729
- Contact us online.
- Or you can speak to us using the live chat below.
Read More About Making Personal Injury Claims
Further personal injury claims guides:
- In this guide you can find out how to make a public park accident claim.
- Here we look at how to make a shopping centre accident claim.
- Find out what a public liability insurance injury claim is in this guide.
External resources you may find helpful:
- Find out how to report a serious child safeguarding incident in this government resource.
- Learn when first aid should be administered from the NHS.
- Guidance on keeping children safe in schools from the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.
If you have any further questions about making an accident at school claim, you can contact our advisors.
