Children’s Injury Claims | Litigation Friend Guide
Children’s personal injury claims work differently from adult claims in several important respects. Until the age of 18, a child cannot personally bring a court claim — a “litigation friend” (typically a parent) brings the claim on the child’s behalf. The compensation is not paid directly to the child but managed under court supervision until the child reaches adulthood. Time limits are extended substantially. And every settlement must be approved by a judge to confirm it is in the child’s best interests.
In this guide
- Who Can Be a Litigation Friend?
- Time Limits for Children
- Court Approval of Settlements
- Managing the Compensation
- How Children’s Claims Differ in Practice
- Common Types of Children’s Injury Claims
- What Compensation Covers
- Common Questions About Children’s Injury Claims
- Related Guides
- Our Partner's Fees Explained
- Check If You Could Claim Compensation For Your Injury
This framework exists to protect children — who cannot make their own legal decisions — and to ensure compensation funds are properly preserved for them. The process can feel formal and slow compared to adult claims, but the protections are worth understanding because they shape how the case is run from start to finish. This guide explains the framework and what parents and guardians need to know.
Who Can Be a Litigation Friend?
A litigation friend acts for the child in the legal proceedings. The role is governed by Civil Procedure Rules Part 21. The litigation friend is usually:
- A parent or guardian — most common, especially for younger children
- The Official Solicitor — appointed where no suitable family member is available, or where there is a conflict of interest
- Another suitable adult — extended family, foster carer, social worker in some circumstances
The litigation friend must have no conflict of interest with the child, must agree to pay any costs the child is ordered to pay, and must act in the child’s best interests throughout. In practice, the litigation friend signs documents and takes instructions on the child’s behalf, but the substantive legal work is done by the solicitor.
Time Limits for Children
The standard three-year personal injury limitation period does not start running until the child turns 18. This means most childhood injury claims can be brought at any point up to the child’s 21st birthday. The reasons behind this extended limit:
- Children cannot bring their own claims, so the limit is paused until they can
- The full extent of childhood injury often only becomes clear as the child develops
- Parents may delay claims through reasonable concerns or lack of information
- The rule applies to all civil claims, not just personal injury
Where the child has substantial cognitive impairment (typical in severe birth injury cases), the limitation period may not start running at all. Specialist solicitors assess limitation as part of initial case review.
Court Approval of Settlements
Every settlement involving a child must be approved by a court. The “infant settlement approval hearing” is a formal process where the judge:
- Reviews the medical evidence and the proposed compensation
- Considers a written advice from a barrister on whether the settlement is reasonable
- Hears submissions from the solicitor on the case and the settlement
- Sometimes asks the child (if old enough) about their experience
- Decides whether the settlement is in the child’s best interests
- Makes orders about how the money is to be managed
The hearing is typically informal — held in chambers, parents and child present, often lasting 20-30 minutes. Most settlements are approved without difficulty, but the judge has full discretion to refuse approval if they consider the settlement inadequate. Defendants sometimes pre-approve to avoid hearings, but the court process remains mandatory.
Managing the Compensation
Compensation for a child is not paid directly to the parent. It is managed under court supervision:
- For smaller awards — paid into the Court Funds Office, which invests the money and pays interest. The child accesses the funds on turning 18
- For substantial awards (typically over £25,000) — invested through specialist financial arrangements with periodic releases for the child’s benefit
- For catastrophic injury awards — a Court of Protection deputy is appointed to manage the funds throughout the child’s lifetime where they lack capacity
- For specific needs — applications can be made for releases from the fund for educational costs, equipment, therapy, or other benefit
Parents cannot freely spend the child’s compensation. Any expenditure on the child’s behalf during minority must be properly justified and accounted for. This protects the funds for the child’s future use.
How Children’s Claims Differ in Practice
- Time limits are extended — typically to age 21, or longer for cognitive impairment
- Medical evidence is often delayed because prognosis cannot be assessed until growth is complete
- Multiple expert disciplines may be needed (paediatrics, child development, educational psychology, paediatric neurology)
- Settlements are typically structured to provide for future needs as the child develops
- Court approval is mandatory for all settlements
- Compensation is managed under court supervision until adulthood
- For catastrophic injuries, the Court of Protection often retains lifetime oversight
Common Types of Children’s Injury Claims
- Birth injuries — cerebral palsy from HIE, Erb’s palsy, neonatal infections
- Road traffic accidents — children as passengers, pedestrians, or cyclists
- School and nursery accidents — supervisory failures, defective equipment, sports injuries
- Public liability — playground accidents, shopping centre falls
- Medical negligence — delayed diagnosis, surgical errors, vaccine reactions
- Holiday accidents — particularly at all-inclusive resorts and on excursions
- Dental injuries — sporting accidents, treatment errors
What Compensation Covers
Children’s claims cover the same heads of loss as adult claims, with some specific considerations:
- Pain, suffering, and loss of amenity — JC Guidelines, particularly important for children because the injury affects developmental experience
- Lifetime medical care for severe injuries
- Specialist accommodation where required
- Educational support and specialist schooling
- Equipment that needs to be replaced as the child grows
- Therapy — physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language
- Loss of earnings projected over the child’s entire future working life
- Care provision through to adulthood and beyond
Common Questions About Children’s Injury Claims
Can I claim on behalf of my child without telling them?
For young children, you typically initiate and conduct the claim as litigation friend without the child being involved in legal detail. As the child gets older (typically over 11-12), specialist solicitors usually involve them in age-appropriate ways. At the settlement approval hearing, the judge may ask older children about their experience and views. The child’s involvement is paced sensitively.
My child is now 17 — should I claim now or wait?
Either approach is workable. Claiming now means you can act as litigation friend and the process completes before they reach 18. Waiting means the child claims in their own name from age 18, with the three-year clock running to age 21. The choice depends on the case — for catastrophic injuries with developing prognosis, waiting often makes sense; for smaller claims with stable prognosis, completing it now is simpler. Specialist solicitors will advise.
How long do children’s claims take?
Severity-dependent. Simpler children’s claims settle in 12-24 months. Complex cases involving developmental assessment routinely take 3-5 years because the long-term prognosis must be established. Catastrophic birth injury cases often take 5-7 years for the same reason. Interim payments fund care and therapy throughout.
Can my child access the money before turning 18?
Only in limited circumstances. Applications can be made to the Court Funds Office for early release where the funds are needed for the child’s benefit — particularly for medical treatment, equipment, education, or therapy. Releases for general family expenses are typically refused. The point of the supervised account is to preserve the funds for the child’s adulthood, not to supplement family income.
Is this work funded on no win no fee?
Almost all UK personal injury and clinical negligence claims are funded under no win no fee Conditional Fee Agreements (CFAs). You pay nothing if the claim is unsuccessful. If successful, the success fee is capped under LASPO 2012 at 25 per cent of general damages and past losses (future losses excluded). After-the-Event insurance covers disbursements and protects against adverse costs. The ATE premium is normally payable only if you win, deducted from your compensation — it is no longer recoverable from the defendant — and your solicitor must explain how the premium and disbursements are treated before you sign (see how ATE insurance works).
Related Guides
Personal Injury Claim Time Limits UK
How Long Does a Personal Injury Claim Take?
Birth Injury Negligence Claims
What is a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA)?
Check If You Could Claim Compensation For Your Injury
If you were injured in an accident that wasn’t your fault, you may be entitled to compensation. Start a free claim check in minutes — no upfront cost. No win, no fee if your claim is accepted.
