General Damages for Injured Children

General damages for injured children are assessed with a long horizon. A permanent injury at eight will be lived with for seventy years, and the award reflects that. The harder problem is that a child’s prognosis is often not settled for years, which affects when the claim should be resolved rather than how it is valued.

A Lifetime of Consequence Raises the Figure

Duration is one of the largest factors in any assessment, and for a child it is at its maximum. An injury worth a moderate award in a person of sixty can approach the ceiling in a child. The plaintiffs in the trilogy described in the supreme court cap chapter were all young people, which is why those cases reached the limit.

Uncertain Prognosis and General Damages for Injured Children

A growing child’s outcome can change. Growth plate injuries, the developmental effects of a head injury and learning difficulties that only surface at school age can take years to declare themselves. Resolving too early risks fixing a number before the loss is known, and paediatric specialist evidence normally drives the timing. The brain injury chapter covers assessment where a head injury is involved.

A Child Cannot Sue in Their Own Name

A claim for a child is brought by a litigation guardian, usually a parent. A settlement of a child’s claim requires court approval, and the court reviews the medical evidence and the proposed handling of the money before approving it. The procedure is set out in each province’s rules of court, and the New Brunswick rules and forms are published by the New Brunswick courts.

Limitation Periods Work Differently for Minors

Limitation legislation in the Atlantic provinces suspends the running of time while a claimant is a minor, so a claim is not usually lost through delay in childhood. The detail varies by province and by the kind of claim, and a claim against a public body can carry its own notice requirement. The safe course is to get advice instead of assuming the extra time.

What the Firm Does

The firm handles children’s claims from car accidents and dog bites, including the approval application, with no fee unless the claim resolves. The assessment framework is in how courts assess general damages.