Introduction to Child Bike Accidents
Children are particularly vulnerable to a cycling or a pedal bike accident due to being unfamiliar with Highway Code and inexperience. A further contributing danger which can give rise to a serious bike accident to a child cyclist arise due to other road users, such as motor vehicles, HGVs who fail to see a child cyclist in time or at all.
As there is no protective metal cage (such as being a passenger in a car) the injuries sustained to a child in a bike accident are that much more serious. Many children suffer from serious head injuries especially when they are not riding their pedal bike with their parents because they fail to wear a crash helmet.
Pedal Bike Accident Causes
Child bike crash injury accidents can also be caused by other factors including pedestrians, faulty bicycles, safety equipment, crash helmets and even pot holes on the road. Bike accidents can result in many serious injuries such as broken bones, traumatic brain injury, head/neck/spinal cord injuries, and fatal injuries. Unfortunately bike crash accidents can also be fatal. We have set up a specialist fatal accident web site for further information on the law in this complex area of the law including help and advice on inquest hearings. Whatever the circumstances expert child bike accident solicitors are here to help.
What Child Bike Accident Solicitors Can Do
Ignorance of the law and the Highway Code is no excuse to a claim for child injuries arising from a cycle accident. As expert child injury compensation claim solicitors we appreciate that compensation the last thought on any parents mind when it comes to pedal bike accident to a child whether minor or serious. That is why we have a dedicated advice line to help when a parent of a child needs it most.
Following a cycle accident, the immediate action it to call the emergency services to obtain all medical advice and treatment for injuries. That could be attending hospital for more serious injuries or the child’s local GP for minor injuries. The pedal bike accident should also be reported to the police. The next stage we would suggest is to contact us, child injury solicitors without delay. As expert child injury cycle accident solicitors we can advise you on every step of way especially if the other driver denies any fault. We can, if available obtain detailed witness statements which is always best to obtain soon after the child bike accident whilst memories are fresh in the witnesses mind. As any child injury bike accident solicitor will tell any parent, independent witness evidence is crucial to winning or losing the case.
Reconstruction Bike Accident Experts
In addition to obtaining independent accident witness statements we can also instruct accident reconstruction experts who may also provide crucial factual evidence to assist the court when advising on the child bike or cycle accident. Suitable measurements, sketch plans and photographs will be obtained and studied.
Child Injury Cycle Medical Experts
In due course the injuries sustained by the child following the bike accident will be considered by an independent medical expert(s). The medical expert will examine the child following the pedal bike accident and provide a written medical report to advise on the injuries the child has sustained. The report will be prepared in a special way which contains a statement of truth so that, if need be, it can be used at court. The medical expert will be suitably trained and able to provide an opinion and prognosis on how quickly the child would recover from the bike or cycle accident. If the injuries are serious or permanent it may meant that the child may have to be examined again at a later time to see how the child’s injuries have “matured” and settled. Serious child bike injuries may also mean that the medical expert may wish the child to be examined by other medical experts from different disciplines. For instance child cycle injuries which result in broken or fractured bones will be examined by an orthopaedic surgeon, however if the child is also suffering emotionally, the child crash victim may also be interviewed by a specialist child psychologist for example.
Serious Child Accident Cycle Injuries
Serious child injuries arising from a bike or cycle accident will take much longer to investigate and settle the claim for compensation as it often takes several years to fully appreciate how the child recovers and reacts to the injuries both emotionally and physically. Often parents have to give up work to look after a child who has been involved in a serious crash involving injuries due to a bike accident. This often involves a financial strain on the family which the family can do without. As specialist bike child accident solicitors we can ease the strain by taking immediate action on behalf of the child and his/her family by arranging for interim payments from the other driver to pay for immediate medical treatment (if not available on the NHS or if there is an undue delay) and to pay for the household bills such as the mortgage, utility bills, insurance and car loans to name but a few.
It is also important to check that the family has any pre-bike accident insurance cover to claim against loan repayments unsecured or secured. Lump sum payments from existing insurance provision is often overlooked due to the child’s injuries as welfare becoming paramount over everything. That is why as expert child pedal bike injury solicitors we always advise to seek advice from us without delay so that we can help the child and the family who are also emotionally involved. We help take the strain and minimise unnecessary anxiety on what to do following a bike crash accident.
Compensation for Cycle Accident Injuries
Once the case is settled and the case in won, the compensation will be payable until the child reaches the age of 18 years which is the age when the law determines that a child can act for himself/herself without the need for a parent or guardian. Up until the time the crash bike victim reaches 18 years of age the child must always act through a parent or guardian. If the child needs money for education, welfare or benefit before reaching 18 years, the child’s bike injury solicitors will request from the court a payment out of the compensation fund on account.
The compensation payment to the child following a cycle accident claim will be invested on the child’s behalf at the Court Funds Office special court bank account which gains interest and is invested on behalf of the child until the child reaches the age of 18 years of age.
It is important once the case has been finalised that the parents and the child keep a note of the court case number and the address of the court. If the family move address they should also remember to let the court know of the new address so that the court will be able to keep track of the family and remind the child when he or she reaches the age of 18 years that the compensation plus interest will be paid so that the final compensation claim for the crash injured child victim will finally come to an end.
