School Accident Claims
Our free guide will help you understand about school accident claims and how our free solicitors can get you the justice you deserve.
Sending your children to school should leave you feeling confident in the knowledge that they are safe and secure while they are out of your care. Unfortunately, this is not always the case, with some schools not taking all possible precautions to keep your children safe. If you or your children have suffered an accident or injury on school premises that was the result of carelessness or negligence on the part of the school, you may be eligible for compensation. Making a claim for accidents at school can be important, not just in terms of getting you the compensation you or your children deserve, but also to highlight to the school the seriousness of their neglect and to encourage them to take action to keep everyone on school premises safe in future.
If you think that you may have a claim for an accident that took place on school grounds, call us on 0121 565 4317 or claim online and our school accident claims solicitors will call you straight back. We will discuss the accident with you, ensuring that we understand the causes of the injury, the full extent of the injury and the impact it has had on your life. We will then be in a position to give you expert legal advice as to how to proceed in your school accident claim.
What Counts As A School Accident?
Accidents are an unfortunate part of everyday life, and it is important that we acknowledge that they will happen at school as well as at home. In order to make a school accident claim, you will need to show that the school did not take sufficient care for your wellbeing, or the wellbeing of your children. This could be in the provision of play equipment, the activities your child is asked to carry out, the maintenance of the buildings and grounds or the food that is served. Common school accidents that occur on school premises could include:
- Slips, Trips and Falls
Although some trips and falls are normal, especially among younger children or when they are overexcited, some are the result of the school not taking sufficient care. Examples of the school being negligent leading to a slip or trip could be not wiping up spilled liquids, failing to repair playgrounds or pathways such that there is an uneven surface or not putting handrails around steps. All of these mean that the fall, and therefore the injury, could have been reasonably foreseen and prevented. In cases where you or your child have suffered an injury on school grounds as a result of a slip, trip or fall and believe that the school should have taken measures to prevent the accident, you may be able to make a claim. - Contact With Noxious Substances
We expect that our children are kept away from harmful or noxious substances while they are at school, in much the same way as we would at home. Unfortunately, there can be more access to harmful chemicals and other hazards within the school environment. Whilst the school cannot be held responsible for preventing all harm within the science laboratory for example, you may be able to make a claim if your child is injured handling substances without sufficient safety equipment (for example if safety glasses are not provided) or if inadequate supervision was provided. If the accident could reasonably have been foreseen and measures were not taken to avoid it, you may be able to make a school accident claim. A claim may also be possible if you discover that your child has been exposed to asbestos within the school environment, or other similar hazards. Such claims can be complex, however, so call us on 0121 565 4317 or claim online to find out whether our school accident claims solicitors can help or not. - Illnesses Related To The Provision Of School Meals
You are entitled to expect that the food your children are given at school should be to a high standard of safety and hygiene, and should have been prepared in a kitchen kept to the highest levels of cleanliness. If this is not the case and your child contracts an illness as a result, you may be eligible for compensation. In many cases, illnesses due to issues with school food will affect a large number of children, so it may be useful to discuss the issue with other parents. If you think that there has been an issue with your child’s school food and you would like to make a claim, call us on 0121 565 4317 or claim online. We may be able to contact other parents as well to ensure that the issue is treated with the seriousness that it deserves. - Injuries Due To Playground Equipment
Good child development requires that children spend time playing outside and experiencing a wide range of different environments and situations. For younger children in particular, however, these need to be age appropriate and adequately supervised. If your child’s school provides play equipment that is not appropriate for the age of the children using it or do not provide sufficient adults to supervise the children’s playtimes such that the children are prevented from using equipment in a way that is not safe, the school may be liable (a legal way of saying responsible) for any accidents and injuries your child may suffer as a result.
Can School Accident Claims Only Be Made On Behalf Of A Child?
Schools are responsible for the safety of everyone they can reasonably expect to come onto their premises. This includes staff, students, parents, cleaners, inspection teams, caterers and delivery drivers. If you have been injured on school grounds when you had a legitimate reason to be there, you are able to make a school accident claim. Examples of accidents in which parents may be injured in an accident at school include slips or trips while picking the children up from school or being struck by falling objects while on school grounds.
If you have suffered an accident or injury on school grounds and think you might have a claim, call us on 0121 565 4317 or claim online and our school accident claims solicitors will call you at a time you choose.
Do All School Accident Claims Have To Have Happened On School Grounds?
The short answer is no. Your child may go to an assortment of different locations with their school, such as school trips, swimming lessons or other activities, some of which you may accompany them on. If you or your child are injured on one of these trips, you may be able to gain compensation from the school, or another responsible party. As an example, if your child is injured in a coach accident in a coach that the school has hired to take the children to an event, you would normally make a claim against the coach operators. If the coach operators do not have sufficient insurance, you might make a claim against the school, as they have put your child at risk by not properly checking that the company they had employed was safe and fully insured. The important question to ask is who has been negligent or careless with your or your child’s safety.
How Do I Go About Starting A School Accident Claim?
Making a compensation claim for an accident incurred at school is the same process as making any other personal injury compensation claim. You will need to call us on 0121 565 4317 or claim online. We will offer you a free consultation, where we discuss the details of your school accident claim including:
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- The Details Of The Accident
When we ask about the accident, we will be making sure that we fully understand what happened to you or your child, the ways in which the school had not carried out their duty of care adequately, and safety precautions that were taken, what precautions could have been taken but were missed and all other details of the incident. This will allow us to get a clear idea of who exactly is to blame for the accident and injury and provides us with evidence to support this. - The Details Of The Injury
Whether it is yourself or your child who has been injured, we will need to know the details of the injury, including how long the injury lasted or whether it is ongoing, any treatment that might have been needed, whether there is a risk of permanent damage, any secondary injuries or issues including mental health problems resulting from the accident and any other details you feel may be relevant. It is important that we get a full picture of the nature of the injury, as this forms the basis of the amount of compensation you will be able to claim. - Your Personal Circumstances
We will need to ask about the ways in which the accident and injury have impacted your lives. This may include whether you have had to take time off work to heal or to care for your child and whether you have incurred any additional costs as a result of what happened. Compensation is designed to try to get you and your family back to the state you would have been in had the accident not happened. If you have incurred costs as a result of a school accident, these need to be included in your claim.
- The Details Of The Accident
Why Choose Our School Accident Claims Solicitors?
If you have been injured in a school accident, call us now on 0121 565 4317 or claim online and our school accident claims solicitors will contact you straight back. We will endeavour to get you the best possible support through your school accident claim, getting you the compensation you need and deserve whilst also encouraging the school to take measures to keep staff, visitors and pupils safer at all times.
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