What To Do If You Were Injured In An Accident As A Child But Did Not Make A Claim At The Time For The Whiplash Injury You Sustained

Whiplash is a very common injury sustained by children and adults alike and whilst most people who have sustained a whiplash injury decide to make a claim for whiplash injury compensation, not everyone makes this choice. Likewise, not all parents of children who have been injured in accident choose to pursue a claim for compensation on behalf of their child – often parents are more concerned with getting their child back to a full state of health and putting the, probably distressing, matter behind them. So what happens if you had an accident as a child and sustained a whiplash injury but, for whatever reason, your parents or carers decided not to make a claim on your behalf? Is there anything you can do and are you out of time for making a claim? This article seeks to answer this question.

The important fact to note here is the limitation date regarding whiplash injury claims. The limitation period refers to the amount of time you have, following an accident, to make a claim for compensation. The normal rules, where an adult has been injured in an accident is that the accident victim has 3 years from the date of the accident in which to pursue a claim. If the 3 year time limit passes and either a claim for compensation has not been made and settled, or if court proceedings have not been issued, then the accident victim will be prevented in law from making a claim (also referred to as the claim being statute barred).

If a child is injured in an accident the parent or carer at the time of the accident can decide to act as the child’s ‘Litigation Friend’ and can make a claim for whiplash injury compensation on the child’s behalf. When the amount of compensation has been agreed between the parties, and approved by a Judge, the money will be placed into a court fund until they reach the age of 18.

However, in the case of an injured child the three year limitation period, discussed above, does not start running until the child reaches the age of 18. This means that any child who has suffered a whiplash injury and whose parents or carers decided not to pursue a claim on their behalf, has until their 21st birthday by which to either have made and settled a claim or to have issued court proceedings.

If you find yourself in this position, i.e. you have not yet reached your 21st birthday and have not yet taken any steps to make a claim for the whiplash injury you sustained as a child, you should contact an expert whiplash solicitor as soon as possible. Unfortunately, if you are over the age of 21 the limitation period will have expired and you will be prevented by law from making a claim.

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