Accidents happen in life. For anyone. And they can happen anywhere and everywhere. That’s the thing with accidents. They’re not predictable.
But when it comes to your child being accidentally hurt, this creates a more worrying issue, and as a parent, knowing what to do in situations such as this can help you remain calm and move forward as best as possible to support your child and get them the care they need for what comes next.
But what exactly do you need to do when your child is injured in an accident?
Seek Medical Attention
In the first instance, before you do anything, you need to make medical arrangements. Whether this is making a GP appointment or you need to call an ambulance, do so immediately. Everything else can come afterwards, but once your child has sustained an injury, you need to make sure you get medical care right away.
If you’re not sure what type of care you need, call 111 for non-emergencies unless your child is losing consciousness, bleeding profusely or struggling to breathe. This is an emergency, and you need an ambulance.
Document the Scene
If your child was hurt outside of your home or due to other people’s negligence, then you need to document everything you can in the moment. This might not always be possible, but taking pictures, getting names of any witnesses and taking details of any responding professionals, i.e. ambulance staff or police officers, can be beneficial here. Have the right details logged too — location, times, date, and weather if applicable. If there is an accident book you need to fill in, ask for a copy of what is recorded for your records, too.
Report to the relevant authorities
Who you need to report to, or indeed if you can, depends on the type of accident and the situation that caused it. It could be that you need to log it with a school, the local council or the police. From here, there might be trade bodies or organisations you can report to as well. But reporting creates an official record that is difficult to dispute later. The more instances of it being reported, the stronger your case will be if you need to make a claim on your child’s behalf.
Get Legal Advice
Getting legal advice in the event of an accident that wasn’t your child’s fault can help support your child through this period and protect others from suffering the same fate.
There are many circumstances that can cause a child to become injured when out and about living their life. From paving stones that aren’t fixed in place and cause your child to trip and break a bone, to a store not cleaning up spills on a floor resulting in a slip and subsequent injury, to safety concerns not being adhered to in a soft play or entertainment facility, hazards can appear in many ways.
Getting legal advice for a personal injury claim here means you can understand what the liable parties’ responsibilities were and how these led to the incident your child suffered from.
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