School Crossing Accident: Claim Compensation For Child Injury Whilst Crossing The Road Near A School
Find out how to claim compensation for accidents involving children at school crossings controlled by a patrol person (lollipop man / woman).
We explore claims against both motorists and the local authority (for failings by a patrol person).
Discover – how much compensation your child can claim for various different injuries.
Finally – we explain what you should do if you are contemplating a school crossing accident claim and how to access free initial legal help.
- School Crossing Accident: Claim Compensation For Child Injury Whilst Crossing The Road Near A School
- What is a school crossing accident claim?
- School crossings defined
- Who is responsible if a child is hit by a vehicle whilst using a school crossing?
- How much compensation can school crossing accident claims attract?
- FREE Initial Legal Help Options
- SUMMARY
What is a school crossing accident claim?
A school crossing accident claim is a claim for compensation for a child injured whilst crossing a road close to a school controlled by a crossing patrol officer. Such claim is either made against the motorist or crossing patrol person (and the local authority as employer).
Compensation will primarily form two parts:
- Monies for the injury your child sustained – known as general damages. Fore example – a broken leg or arm.
- Compensation for financial loss and expense as a direct result of injury. For example – medical expenses, care and assistance in the home.
Your Child Will Likely Have A Claim
When an accident occurs at a patrolled crossing point your child will likely have a school crossing claim for compensation for injuries.
If the accident was caused by the motorist’s lack of attention – the motorist will have a liability to the child separately from the local authority.
School crossings defined
A school crossing is a crossing point on a road near to a school that the council has deemed necessary to have a crossing patrol person monitor
Crossing Patrol Officers
Local authorities have powers to arrange for crossings close to schools to be controlled by school crossing patrol officers.
Generally – crossing patrols occur during peak school times. One time in the morning as school starts and one time in the afternoon as school finishes.
The patrol person might be stationed at a pelican crossing, a zebra crossing or might use a hand held stop sign to stop the flow of traffic and allow children to cross the road at the patrolled point.
A lollipop man / woman should wear an appropriate uniform, so as to be visible to children and traffic alike.
Lollipop Man / Woman
A school patrol person is typically referred to as a lollipop man or woman as the manual traffic control sign (stop sign) held up by the patrol person looks like a lollipop.
Who is responsible if a child is hit by a vehicle whilst using a school crossing?
Generally, the motor vehicle driver will be found at fault for injuring a child on a school crossing.
Motor vehicle driver liability
There are many signs that motorists should heed when close to a school to ensure the safety of children crossing the road. For example:
- Road signs warning of reduced speed due to the presence of children, Often these are during certain times.
- Yellow zig zag road markings near the school entrance.
- Children crossing signs
- School bus stop road markings.
- School warning signs and flashing amber lights.
The highway code warns motorists to take extra care when more vulnerable pedestrians and road users, such as children, are present.
Extra care is especially true near schools where there can be many children crossing the road.
The Highway Code Requires Motorists Take Extra Care Near Schools
Near schools – Rule 208 of the Highway Code warns motorists to:
Drive slowly and be particularly aware of young cyclists and pedestrians.
In some places, there may be a flashing amber signal below the ‘School’ warning sign which tells you that there may be children crossing the road ahead. Drive very slowly until you are clear of the area.
In addition, rule 209 requires motorists to:
Drive carefully and slowly when passing a stationary bus showing a ‘School Bus’ sign as children may be getting on or off.
Patrol person and local authority liability
Rule 210 of the Highway Code requires motorists to heed the signal of the patrol person.
Lollipop Man / Woman Stop Sign Must Be Obeyed
Rule 210 states that vehicle drivers MUST stop when a school crossing patrol shows a ‘Stop for children’ sign.
Therefore – imagine a patrol officer uses the stop sign, but a motorist fails to stop resulting in an accident. Generally – this would be the motorist’s liability and not that of the lollipop person.
However, a patrol officer could bear some responsibility for not controlling children crossing correctly.
If a child is allowed to cross at a patrolled area when it is unsafe to do so resulting in an accident – the employers of the lollipop man (the local authority) could be held responsible for the accident (so long as the motorist involved was driving appropriately given the road conditions).
As children are considered vulnerable members of society – the duty on a patrol person to ensure the safety of children at crossings is quite strict. Claims have been successful even when children ran over the road at a patrolled point. However, deductions in compensation for contributory negligence are likely.
For example – it might be that a car is driving carefully and a child runs out at a school crossing leading to an accident. The lollipop man / woman is chatting and distracted and not controlling the children correctly.. Even in this instance – the car driver’s conduct would considered. However, if it is not possible to attach liability to the vehicle driver – the patrol person could be found at fault. In this instance – the employer of the patrol person will be liable. Generally – the patrol person is employed by the local council.
Parents Accompanying Children Should Take Care
Clearly if a child is accompanied by a parent or other adult – that adult should take care of the child’s safely when crossing.
Any potential liability of the crossing patrol person should be weighed by a supervising adult’s conduct.
In other words – imagine the child who ran out in our earlier example was with a parent. In this instance – liability of the patrol person would be more difficult to prove.
Why is the local authority responsible for a patrol person’s negligence?
The local authority is the employer of the patrol person. Therefore, the law holds them responsible for the negligence of their employee under a principle known as vicarious liability.
The local authority will have all proper insurance policies should accidents occur.
Failure To Correctly Control A Crossing
Any school crossing claims made on behalf of injured children for failure to correctly control a crossing point will be paid for by the local authority.
How much compensation can school crossing accident claims attract?
The amount of compensation that can be claimed for your child in a school crossings accident depends upon:
- The nature of the injury suffered.
- How long any symptoms will last in to the future and whether there will be disability.
- The amount of financial losses and expenses incurred.
Medical expert instructed by your solicitor
A medical expert will be instructed by your solicitor to both examine your child and complete a report.
The medical report will set out the exact nature of your child’s injuries initially suffered coupled with an estimate of how long your child will take to recover.
Alternatively, if it is believed recovery will not be complete – the expert will set out the likely disability.
Claim for both physical and psychological injury
Your child;s claim will include compensation for both physical and psychological injuries.
In addition, financial loss and expense incurred directly as a result of the accident can be claimed.
To see examples of the amounts of compensation you can claim for your child for various different injuries in school crossings claims click compensation amounts.
FREE Initial Legal Help Options
We recommend you contact us directly to discuss. You can not only telephone a solicitor directly, but also arrange a callback or have an online assessment.
Speak to A Specialist Solicitor If Your Child Has Been Injured In A Patrolled Area
You will need the help of a specialist solicitor to make school crossing claims for compensation.
Claims on behalf of children follow a unique process that is different than claims on behalf adults..
In addition, road accidents involving children can lead to significant injury with substantial compensation payouts should there be on going disability,
SUMMARY
To summarize – a claim for a child injured in a school crossing accident will follow a unique procedure for child claims that will either be against the vehicle driver of the local authority as the employer of the school crossing patrol person.
