Child brain injury lawyers
At Hugh James, our child brain injury solicitors have the specialist experience, skills and support mechanisms in place to help families through the difficulties stemming from a child’s traumatic brain injury.
A child brain injury compensation claim requires a specialist approach. When a child suffers from brain damage, it can take years before the full effects can be assessed. When making a compensation claim, the future care and treatment needs of a brain injured child requires professional evaluations to be made. Our solicitors have access to the best possible experts who can assess a child’s future needs in order to claim the correct level of compensation. We act on a no win, no fee basis meaning if you do not win then you will have no fee to pay. Contact us for a free no obligation case consultation.
A child brain injury can happen in a variety of ways, including:
- Road traffic accidents;
- Pedestrian accidents;
- Attending trips or events; or
- As a result of birth complications.
No matter how the injury was sustained, the life and development of a child may be drastically affected. Commonly a brain injured child may face:
- Physical and cognitive impairment;
- Psychiatric impairment;
- Challenging behaviour;
- Mood swings;
- Learning difficulties;
- Speech difficulties; and/or
- Seizures.
Our solicitors will fight to ensure the likely future needs of a brain injured child are identified and the most appropriate rehabilitation plan is in place throughout the child’s life. It is important that the likely future needs of the child are assessed by experienced medical experts to ensure the correct level of compensation is awarded. Our brain injury lawyers have access to the best possible experts to assist during the compensation process.
Why Hugh James?
- Hugh James has a top ranking personal injury compensation practice working from offices in London and Cardiff, covering the whole of the UK
- Access to the Hugh James Emergency Fund
- The brain injury team has recovered many millions of pounds for individuals and families affected by a brain injury over the past 30 years
- The multi-disciplinary team includes solicitors with national reputations, a qualified social worker, an accountant and an experienced Court of Protection deputy, able to manage the financial affairs of those who lack mental capacity as defined under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 – a holistic approach
- Our injury solicitors are members of the Law Society Personal Injury Panel and the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers
- Hugh James is approved as brain injury solicitors by Headway UK, the Child Brain Injury Trust and the Brain Injury group
- Leading rankings in The Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners UK independent legal directories
Our team of specialist brain injury solicitors provide expert advice and services to ensure you obtain the best care, treatment, rehabilitation and the highest possible level of compensation following a traumatic brain injury.
Traumatic brain injuries have life changing implications for an individual and their family. Quality care, treatment and rehabilitation are essential to ensure the continued health and well-being of a brain injured person. Our expert brain injury solicitors can help on a no win, no fee basis – contact us today for free, no obligation advice.
What’s the child brain injury claims process?
A brain injury claim will begin with the appointment of a specialist brain damage solicitor who can help you throughout the compensation claims process. Firstly, you and your solicitor will need to prove that it was caused, at least partly, by another person (this is known as liability).
During a compensation claim, your solicitor will seek to obtain evidence on the severity of the brain injury sustained and investigate the likely care and medical needs going forward (this is know as quantum).
The process will be undertaken by our team of solicitors against the individual who caused the injury, who is known as the defendant. The defendant can be an individual or a company and generally the claim will be dealt with by the defendant’s insurer. In cases of a violent criminal act an individual can seek compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA).
If your claim is concluded successfully the defendant will pay the agreed compensation which could include:
- Compensation for the brain injury or head injury sustained
- Loss of earnings caused
- Funds to provide care, support and case management
- The cost of specialist equipment, including a suitable property, aids and equipment and transport
- Court of Protection costs, if a professional deputy is required
- A periodical payment order (PPO), which is an annual, index linked, payment for life to cover future, year on year, items of expenditure such as care and case management
To start a claim
To start a claim you simply need to contact us to arrange a free, no obligation consultation. We will discuss all of the options available to you, as well as the likelihood of successfully claiming compensation. If we believe you have a reasonable chance of success we will, upon your instruction, act on behalf of the brain injured child and family to identify who is at fault, the likely long term implications and future costs allowing for the correct level of compensation to be awarded.
Contact our specialist child brain injury lawyers today.
Key Contacts
Your questions answered
Traumatic brain injury is defined as an injury caused by trauma to the head.
Common causes include:
- Being hit in the head
- Falling from height
- Being involved in a collision.
An individual who has sustained a traumatic brain injury may show signs of:
- Confusion
- Difficulties speaking
- Vision impairments
- Dizziness
- Loss of memory
- Lack of attention, concentration and motivation
- Behavioural changes or difficulties
- Memory problems
- Poor concentration
- Problems with planning and organising
- Difficulties solving problems
- Fatigue
- Anger management issues
- A lack of motivation.
Category 1 – Closed head injuries
A closed head injury is not visible to the naked eye as there is no open wound. These types of injuries commonly happen as a result of rapid acceleration or deceleration, causing the head to move violently forward, backward or from side to side. These types of injuries can damage nerve fibres in the brain causing a traumatic brain injury.
Category 2 – Open or penetrating wounds
An open or penetrating wound is visible to the eye and exposes the open skull and brain. An injury such as this can result from being struck directly on the head, and outcomes can vary depending on severity. An open wound tends to be localised to the area of the head that has been stuck, while the injury can also be coupled with the fibre damage caused by acceleration and deceleration forces.
Depending on the severity of the injury, the individual may require rehabilitation and support as well as costly specialist equipment.
Headway defines an acquired brain injury as a type of brain injury that has occurred since birth, and it can be caused in many ways— from strokes, brain tumours, haemorrhages or a lack of oxygen to the brain. A traumatic brain injury is also a type of acquired brain injury.
An individual with an acquired brain injury may still be able to claim personal injury compensation as a result of medical negligence. Medical negligence occurs when improper treatment or diagnosis of an illness is identified as causing prolonged illness, injury or death. Alongside our dedicated team of solicitors, we also run one of the largest, top ranked, teams of clinical negligence solicitors in the UK who can help you with head injury compensation claims after an acquired brain injury.
Brain injury is often referred to as a hidden disability so someone with a brain injury can sometimes give the impression that everything is fine.
A specialist solicitor will be familiar with the issues which cause difficulty and will be skilled at speaking to those with brain injuries in a friendly and effective way to get the information needed to be able to make a claim.
As specialist brain injury solicitors we know which expert witnesses will present the evidence in the best way to support your claim. It also takes a specialist solicitor to ensure that the witness statements support and complement the expert evidence.
Sophisticated formulas help to accurately calculate the value of a claim and a specialist brain injury solicitor will use these to ensure that there will be enough money to cover the injured person’s needs such as lifelong care, therapy costs, accommodation and aids and appliances.
Access to appropriate rehabilitation is also vital and the earlier it can be provided, the better. Skill and care needs to be taken to work closely with neuro rehabilitation therapists and clinicians in order to help give their clients the best chance of recovery.
At a time when there are so many challenges, knowing that you have a specialist legal team who are experts in all these details can bring peace of mind.
There are a number of ways that you may be able to fund your brain injury claim. As each case is different, the best option is to speak to your solicitor about your circumstances, but your options normally fall into one of three categories:
The first port of call is to check if you have insurance that covers legal expenses. If you have legal expense insurance, which may be attached to a home insurance policy, we will ask the insurer to pay your legal fees.
If you do not have insurance, and your solicitor determines that there is a reasonable chance of bringing a successful claim then you may be offered a conditional fee agreement (CFA). CFAs are sometimes known as “no win, no fee” agreements. In these situations, your solicitor is taking the risk because they will not be paid unless the claim is successful. In the event that you win your case, the legal fees will either be paid by the other side or will be deducted from the money awarded to you by the court.
If your solicitor is not confident that you will be successful in your claim but you want to move forward with it anyway, you always have the option to cover your legal fees yourself. This is a decision that you will need to consider carefully.
However you decide to fund your claim, your specialist brain injury solicitor will be there to help explain everything to you in a way that you understand so that you can make the best decision for your circumstances.
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