We can help you claim
compensation following an accident
illness or injury - nationwide
Call: 0800 10 757 95
Alongside cyclists and motorbike riders, pedestrians are the most vulnerable group of road users who are liable to suffer serious injury and often likely to make a road accident claim because of the failings of the driver of a car, lorry, bus, taxi or other vehicle.
The UK has an enviable safety record, indeed, despite the heavy volume of traffic, fewer people are now killed and seriously injured as a proportion of drivers, passengers and others than in any other country and the figures continue to fall. Yet, there are still more than 6,500 pedestrians hurt in accidents each year.
Worryingly, nearly half this total is children and, at November 2010, the UK's child pedestrian death rate is worse than ten other EU countries and eight times higher than Sweden's. The highest number of casualties is among those categorised as being in the lowest socio-economic group.
Many of these accidents occur on the way to and from school, especially when pupils begin to be independent of travelling with a supervising adult.
Because many parents take their children to school by car for reasons of safety or convenience, the flow of traffic around a school entrance has increased which, ironically, adds to the risk of a collision between a pedestrian and a vehicle.
The school run is now said to make up one-fifth of car journeys at peak periods, despite official urging that parents should allow their children to walk or cycle for the sake of their overall fitness.
Road safety charity Brake is leading the campaign to enforce 20mph speed limits in urban areas, particularly around schools, but it is also seeking to educate all drivers, including parents, to keep to speed limits and be aware of the risk of a pedestrian accident.
In 2010, a study of 20mph zones which had been introduced in London found there was a 50% reduction in the number of children aged under 15 killed or seriously injured in those areas.
Many local authorities either have installed or are testing ways of reducing drivers' speeds near schools, such as cameras, humps, chicanes and other measures including harsher parking restrictions to improve safety for pupils and further reduce the toll of pedestrian accidents involving children.
Road accident claim for children
If a child in your family has been hurt while walking or cycling, he or she may have been left with life-changing injuries such as a spine injury or brain damage and even a less-serious bump with a car can easily result in a fracture and mental trauma.
Once initial shock has receded and treatment started, the parents or other responsible adult may wish to see whether making a claim on behalf of the child through a PI solicitor is appropriate.
In many vehicle accidents involving pedestrians, the police will become involved in assessing liability and possibly pursue a criminal case. Usually, a civil law case for compensation will not start until this has been resolved but where children are the claimants seeking damages there is an upper time limit of their 21st birthday by which proceedings must have started.
The lawyers at YouClaim have many years of experience in handling accident claims and achieving appropriate recompense for their clients.
They are happy to offer no-obligation, free advice and, should you decide to proceed, offer a no win no fee arrangement whereby 100% of all compensation won will be paid directly to the claimant without deduction of their charges.
To find out more about the comprehensive service YouClaim offers to anyone seeking to bring a road accident claim on behalf of a child, you can contact us by phone on 0800 10 757 95 or use the online claim form to send us initial information and we will get back to you as quickly as possible.
