Past Cases - Children's Accidents

Accident at a play centre involving a young child

We acted for a delightful young man (aged only 3 at the time of his accident) who was playing in a soft play area in an adventure centre owned by a company in Swindon, when, he fell from the top of some padded steps, landing on some hard ground. In an attempt to break his fall, he fractured his left wrist. He had to be taken to hospital and a soft cast was applied and he had fully recovered from his injury within about 6 weeks of his accident. He also suffered some minor bruising to his face which also cleared up within a few weeks. No long term medical problems were anticipated. It was our case that:-

• the duty owed to our client by the play centre was very high;
• the steps in question were steep – it was likely that children might fall;
• in light of this risk, the ground was too hard and this type of injury was foreseeable.

After sending a letter of claim to the owner of the play centre, their insurers made an early admission of liability and we were able to reach an early settlement. As our client is still a young child, the settlement needed to be approved by the Judge at Swindon County Court.

S J Edney solicitors obtained compensation of £3,250.00 for this client during 2012

 

Fracture of the tibia and fibula

We acted for the parents of a young man (who was only aged 12) who was a member of his local football club. During September 2008, after training had finished for the evening, he and his team mates were running around the football clubhouse in order to keep warm. Positioned adjacent to the clubhouse doorway/steps were two large concrete slabs measuring approximately 3ft by 1ft and about 6” apart which had been left on the grass following some building work at the clubhouse. Whilst he was running past these slabs one of his feet got caught between the two slabs which resulted in him sustaining a spiral fracture of his left tibia and fibula. He had to be taken to hospital but fortunately did not require any surgery. His symptoms resolved within a period of about 18 months following his accident.

S J Edney solicitors obtained compensation of £8,500.00 for this client during 2010

 

Injury to foot

We acted for an 11 year old boy who sustained an injury to his right foot in an accident in June 2008 whilst playing close to his home. Briefly, he and two of his friends were playing on a grass verge beside a new un-adopted road in North Swindon. He accidentally stood on a small metal spike or rod sticking up from the ground which went through his right foot causing a laceration. This had been left in the ground by a landscape company working in the area. The good news is that our client made a full recovery from this injury although he does complain of some mild discomfort in his foot especially in the very cold weather. There was a delay in resolving this case but upon us threatening to issue proceedings, the insurers of the landscape company agreed to settle his claim.

S J Edney solicitors obtained compensation of £5,000.00 for this client during 2010

 

RTA involving a young teenager

We acted for a young lady (aged 14) who during September 2007 was attempting to cross a pedestrian crossing in Swindon whilst going to school. She was then knocked over by a Thamesdown Transport bus which caused her to be thrown onto a nearby lamppost. She sustained a number of serious injuries including a fractured left clavicle and an injury to her left kidney. She was admitted to the children’s unit at Great Western Hospital where she stayed as a patient for about 10 days. During this period, she required surgery on her left kidney. Fortunately, she made a very good recovery from her injuries and the risk of any further trouble with her kidney in the future is very small (1 to 3% lifetime risk). Initially, the insurers of the bus company disputed liability but after providing them with a copy of the Police Accident report, they accepted that their insured’s driver was entirely to blame for the collision. They then put forward an offer of only £10,000.00 in settlement of our client’s claim which we rejected. As a consequence of this very low offer, we issued proceedings and shortly after they instructed solicitors to act for them, a satisfactory settlement was negotiated on our client’s behalf as described below:-

• Pain, suffering and loss of amenity   £25,000.00
• Her family’s out of pocket expenses £  4,250.00

S J Edney solicitors obtained compensation of £29,250.00 for this client during 2010

 

Injury to foot

We acted for an 11 year old boy who sustained an injury to his right foot in an accident in June 2008 whilst playing close to his home. Briefly, he and two of his friends were playing on a grass verge beside a new un-adopted road in North Swindon. He accidentally stood on a small metal spike or rod sticking up from the ground which went through his right foot causing a laceration. This had been left in the ground by a landscape company working in the area. The good news is that our client made a full recovery from this injury although he does complain of some mild discomfort in his foot especially in the very cold weather. There was a delay in resolving this case but upon us threatening to issue proceedings, the insurers of the landscape company agreed to settle his claim.

S J Edney solicitors obtained compensation of £5,000.00 for this client during 2010

 

Bicycle collapsed causing laceration to lip and nose, and a chipped front tooth

We also acted for a young man (now aged 16) who was involved in a particularly nasty accident back in June 2006. At the time, he was only aged 13 and was riding his new bicycle home. As he left the pavement and came down on the road, the front part of his bike collapsed underneath him, causing him to fall to the ground, landing on his face. He badly lacerated both his lip and nose and chipped one of his front teeth. This caused damage to his nasal septum and he required two operations to put this problem right. Fortunately, he has made a full recovery. Initially, the manufacturers of the bicycle denied liability. We obtained our own independent evidence which quite clearly showed that the bike was defective. Eventually after the threat of issuing proceedings, they reconsidered their position and agreed to properly compensation him for his injuries.

SJ Edney solicitors obtained £15,000.00 for this client in 2009

 

Open fracture of tibia bone

We acted for a young boy (aged 9) who had been involved in a frightening accident during July 2006 when he was struck by a car whilst walking across a zebra crossing. The impact was on his right lower leg causing an open fracture of his tibia bone. He was rushed to hospital by air ambulance and required emergency surgery. A further two operations were undertaken later on. Fortunately he was able to return to school after a relatively short period of time and made an excellent recovery from his injury. His treating doctors were particularly happy with him and felt it was very unlikely that he would have any future problems. Liability was initially disputed but after obtaining a report from our own Accident Reconstruction expert the insurers of the other driver conceded liability. After some negotiations we were able to settle this case without the need to issue proceedings.

SJ Edney solicitors obtained £18,500.00 for this client in 2008

 

Delay in diagnosis of twisted testicle results in its removal

We acted for a young man (aged 13 at the relevant time) who attended his local hospital complaining of left side abdominal pain. There was also tenderness in the area around his left testicle. His treating doctor suspected that he had an infection. It later transpired however that he had in fact a twisted testicle and due to the delay in diagnosis this had to be removed. Not surprisingly, he was psychologically damaged by this episode. Proceedings were issued at Court and we were able to negotiate a settlement on his behalf.

SJ Edney solicitors obtained £11,250.00 for this client in 2007

 

Parents psychological injuries due to sub-standard care of 3 year old

In this unusual case, we acted for the parents of a young child (only aged 3) who had received sub-standard care at hospital. As a consequence, their daughter required extensive surgery and other treatment and it was touch and go for a long time whether she would live. They both suffered psychological injuries as a result of being present with their child throughout her stay in hospital and witnessing what happened to her. A claim was submitted on their behalf which was rejected by the Hospital Trust. Proceedings had to be issued and three days before the Trial, the Hospital Trust agreed to compensate them for what they had endured.

Each parent received £7,500.00 in 2006

 

Rope ladder at Butlins playground breaks injuring shoulder

On this occasion, we acted for the mother of a young boy (only aged 12) who sustained a soft tissue injury to his shoulder when a rope ladder at an adventure playground belonging to Butlins broke. It took him about 18 months before he fully recovered from this injury. The insurers of Butlins admitted liability and agreed to compensate him.

SJ Edney solicitors obtained £3,500.00 for this client in 2006

 

Muscular pain in hip and thigh received a late diagnosis of minor slippage of upper femoral epiphysis

Whilst our client was only aged 11, he attended his GP complaining of muscular pain in both his thigh/hip. He was unable to weight-bear and was in a great deal of discomfort. His GP prescribed him with some painkillers and told him to rest. It later transpired, however, that he had in fact had a minor slippage of his right upper femoral epiphysis. This injury was only diagnosed much later on but by then it was too late to repair the damage and our client was left with a permanent hip disability. On reaching adulthood, he consulted a firm of solicitors who advised him that he did not have any claim. He decided to obtain a second opinion from our firm. Our own expert evidence supported a claim in that if he had been referred by his GP to hospital immediately then his hip problem would have been avoided. The MDU of the GP in question disputed liability. Proceedings had to be issued at Court and once again shortly before Trial the Defendant agreed to compensate him for his injury.

SJ Edney solicitors obtained £40,000.00 for this client in 2006