Accidents at nursery school are commonplace and more often than not brought on by little children’s innately lively and curious nature. However, some injuries can result from the negligence of the nursery’s staff. In these cases, compensation claims for accidents at nursery school might be required to claim for the child’s suffering. This could be the case for injuries caused by anything from faulty playground equipment to food poisoning caused by poor hygiene.

During the course of this guide on nursery school accident claims, we’ll provide more examples of negligence that could lead to a compensation claim. We’ll also explain how the claims process works and what amount of compensation might be payable.

If you believe you have the grounds to claim compensation on behalf of your child, we could help you. Our team of friendly advisors will happily review your case on a no-obligation basis. They’ll also offer free advice about what to do next. If the case appears strong enough, we could refer it to one of our personal injury solicitors. Should they agree to take you on as a client, they’ll work on a No Win No Fee basis and try to achieve the maximum amount of compensation possible.

After you have completed our guide, please get in touch when you’re ready to start the ball rolling by calling 0800 6524 881.

Eligibility To Claim Compensation For An Accident At Nursery School

The Childcare Act 2006 is quite clear. All children who are at school (or nursery school) are owed a legal duty of care by staff and teachers. That means their health and wellbeing should be protected whilst in attendance. Therefore, claiming for an accident at nursery school could be possible if:

• The child was owed a duty of care; and
• The owner or staff at a nursery were negligent and caused an accident to take place; and
• Injuries were sustained by the child as a direct result of the accident.

In a later section, we’ll look at common accidents in nursery schools that could result in a compensation claim. Before we do, let’s look at what evidence you could use to support a claim.

Evidence To Support A Nursery School Accident Claim

Evidence you could use to support a nursery school accident claim could include:

• Accident reports. Nurseries must record details of any accident involving a child. You are allowed to ask for a copy of this report. Importantly, it will show the date, time, and location of the accident. It will also show what injuries were reported.
• CCTV footage. For safeguarding reasons, many nurseries have CCTV cameras in place. You are well within your rights to ask for a copy of any CCTV footage involving your child’s accident.
• Medical records. If your child is injured at nursery, you are likely to take them to a doctor or a hospital so that their injuries can be treated. This is a good idea and it means you can ask for copies of any medical records. They could be used as evidence to support your claim as they’ll show the extent of any injuries and the treatment that was required.
• Financial losses. Claims might include any money that has been lost as a result of your child’s injuries. Therefore, it’s a good idea to keep a record of them. This might include prescription costs and travel costs. Also, if you need to take time off from work to care for your child, any lost income might be considered as part of the claim too.

If you are unsure how to obtain the evidence listed, please call our team. We’ll take a look at what you have already and whether our solicitors can gather further information if required to back up your claim.

Common Factors That Lead To Accidents In A Nursery

As mentioned before, if the negligence of nursery school staff has caused your child to be injured, they could be eligible to claim compensation. Scenarios that could result in a nursery school accident claim include:

• Falls that happen because a piece of playground equipment was damaged or poorly maintained.
• Injuries caused by damaged or defective chairs, tables and other furniture.
• Slips, trips or falls on wet floors that happen because children were allowed to freely run around
• Any accidents in the classroom or outside that happen due to lack of supervision.
• Allergic reaction due to negligence
• Any injury that was caused because the children were left unsupervised.
• Unsupervised play time or sporting activities.

If you decide to claim compensation on behalf of your child you could claim for:

• Cuts, bruises or lacerations.
• Fractures or broken bones.
• Head injuries including concussions.
• Soft tissue injuries like sprains or strains.

Don’t be put off from starting a claim if your child’s injury or accident are not listed. It’s not possible to list every scenario here but one of our advisors will happily check if a claim is possible when you call our advice line.

How Much Compensation For A Nursery School Accident?

If you make a compensation claim for a nursery school accident, there are several factors used to determine how much is paid. Claims are unique in nature because each child will suffer differently. If your claim is accepted, a solicitor will explain how much compensation they’ll request once they’ve assessed your child’s case in more detail. The elements that make up a personal injury claim include:

• General damages. This is used to cover any pain and suffering. Importantly, both physical and psychological injuries can be considered.
• Special damages. This element looks to cover any financial impact caused by the accident. It could include the cost of replacing clothing damaged in the accident, medical costs, care costs, or travel costs.

If you do decide to claim, your child might require a medical assessment. This is nothing to worry about as it will be carried out locally by an independent specialist that our solicitors can arrange for you. They’ll talk about your child’s injuries and check any medical records. They’ll then provide a prognosis for your solicitor.

Calculating Compensation Amounts For Injuries Sustained At Nursery School

When personal injury solicitors take on cases, they’ll check the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to see how much compensation (for general damages) might be awarded. Therefore, our compensation calculator below refers to those figures:

Importantly, if your child’s nursery school compensation claim is successful, the level of the award may vary from the amounts listed. Therefore, please use these figures as guidance at this time.

Claiming Compensation On Behalf Of A Child

As you might imagine, children can’t represent themselves when claiming compensation for an accident at nursery school. However, the litigation friend process means parents (or other adults) can represent the child during the claims procedure.

Once the paperwork has been processed, you’ll deal with solicitors and courts on behalf of your child. You’ll also make decisions that are in their best interests. Importantly, if a settlement is agreed upon, it will be checked by a court to ensure it is fair. Then the funds will be placed into a court account until the child is 18.

As a litigation friend, you can request funds by writing to the court and explaining how they will benefit the child.

Time Limits For Child Accident Claims

In child injury claims, the litigation friend process can be used at any time before the child’s 18^th birthday. If you don’t decide to make a claim, all is not lost. That’s because when your child becomes 18-years, they will have 3-years to make their own claim.

How Personal Injury Solicitors Can Help With Nursery Accident Claims

If your child is injured at nursery, you might decide to seek compensation for them. In fact, the nursery might seem apologetic and tell you how to claim. However, nursery staff will not deal with the claim themselves. Instead, the case will be handed over to their insurance company.

If you’ve ever dealt with an insurance claim, you may know that you sometimes have to jump through hoops to be paid compensation. In personal injury claims, you’ll need to prove definitively that the nursery was liable for your child’s accident and the injuries they sustained. If you can’t, compensation might not be paid at all.

Our belief is that you stand a better chance of receiving compensation if you let a personal injury solicitor handle your claim. Our solicitors try to deal with everything during a claim so that you aren’t bamboozled by technical legal questions. This includes providing extra evidence to try and counter any objections raised by the nursery’s insurer.

They will keep you updated throughout the case and they will be there if you need to ask any questions. Ultimately, they will do everything they can to achieve the highest settlement amount possible for your child’s injuries.

You can call our advice line on 0800 6524 881 if you have any queries or would like to start a claim. Should the advisor think your claim has strong grounds, they’ll refer it to one of our solicitors. If it is taken on, you’ll find the nursery school accident claims process less stressful because it will be managed on a No Win No Fee basis.