My child has had an accident any help please?

I'mgettingthere!!

Hello every body. I'm hoping for some advice please?

In November my 14 year old daughter had an accident. She sustained a neck injury and it has taken me 15 weeks for the hospital to admit she also had a head injury that went undiagnosed. So not only have I been made to feel an over anxious mother by my very small local hospital I am struggling with all the extra costs of having a sick child.

We had a diagnoses last week and were basically told to go away and get on with life all should be well within 12 months!! Our lives have changed so much and we have been offered little support from the hospital, a referal to Pain clinic in 6 weeks........

As my daughter has been unable to attend school full time since the accident and is struggling to attend part time I was wondering whom I should contact for advice..... her school have been ok so far, expecting her tho to be able to catch up on all the work missed, as my daughter's eyesight and concentration have still not returned to full capacity she is really struggling.

Any advice on who to contact would be most welcome on

a. educational support
b. financial support
c. social/mental support

My husband works full time, I work part time as I have a illness which sadly means full time work is out of the question at the moment We have both had to take considerable unpaid time off to be able to look after my daughter and I have an 11 year old son too! Four months down the line and we are struggling!

Thank you in advance :beer:

Thomas_Hardy

What has she been diagnosed with, and what problems is she having? You mention eye sight and concentration, how are these affecting her day to day living?

kingfisherblue

I'm not sure how much I can help, but for educational things, can the school email notes over so that your daughter can read them on the computer - she can enlarge the fonts to aid her reading if small print is a problem. Or ask the school for printed notes, but again in larger font.

If any of her English Literature books are available on CD, ask if the school has a copy she can borrow, or check with the local library. Your daughter might be able to tolerate listening to a text instead of reading it.

Depending on the joint earnings of you and your husband, you might be able to claim back costs of getting your daughter to and from hospital appointments, but I think you need to be on certain benefits or a very low income for this to happen. The cash office at the hospital should be able to help.

If the hospital has car parking charges, ask if there is a concessionary pass for regular attendees. If your daughter is still in hospital, or needs to be readmitted overnight, ask the ward manager for a parking pass. Most hospitals have them, but you often have to ask.

rogerblack

I'mgettingthere!! wrote: »

Hello every body. I'm hoping for some advice please?

In November my 14 year old daughter had an accident. She sustained a neck injury and it has taken me 15 weeks for the hospital to admit she also had a head injury that went undiagnosed.

Salient points - November 14th is over 3 months ago.
The 12 month recovery time exceeds 6 months.
She in principle - if her disability is significant enough that it either causes her difficulty or pain walking, or her mental problems cause significant extra care over a child her age, or she loses her way outside - may be entitled to disability living allowance.

https://www.gov.uk/dla-disability-living-allowance-benefit/overview
It is important to start the process of making a claim very soon, either by phone or online.
This is because on April 8th, new claims will be for PIP - not DLA - which is she may be less likely to succeed with.

[Deleted User]

OP have you contacted a no win no fee solicitor if the accident was someone elses fault,i know it wont help with current problems but she maybe entitled to some compo
also as above dla possibly but as roger says be quick with that one

XXJULESXX

Afaik children under 16yrs will still apply for DLA. Only adults new claims to pip at the moment x

chrisv24

It could be worth talking to a personal injury solicitor. As your daughter is under 18 you could make a claim on her behalf. Their failure to properly diagnose the head injury could be seen as medical negligence. You can find out more about it here http://www.injuryclaimspecialists.com/medical-negligence/

I think it would be well worth having a meeting with a solicitor. Many of them offer free consultations these days so you don't have anything to lose just by having a chat with someone.

I hope your daughter gets well soon

Mojisola

I'mgettingthere!! wrote: »

As my daughter has been unable to attend school full time since the accident and is struggling to attend part time I was wondering whom I should contact for advice..... her school have been ok so far, expecting her tho to be able to catch up on all the work missed, as my daughter's eyesight and concentration have still not returned to full capacity she is really struggling.

If she's finding school attendance difficult, she could have a spell of home tuition arranged by the LA - https://www.ace-ed.org.uk/advice-about-education-for-parents/advice-booklets-and-briefings/school-attendance

If you have a Parent Partnership group near you, they could help too - https://www.parentpartnership.org.uk/

I'mgettingthere!!

Thank you every body for your advice.
I am reluctant to give a name to the injury now until I receive the report from the peadiatric neurologist, I was hoping to get it today, it's been two weeks now since seeing her.
The school won't have another meeting until they see the report.
Today I will start on the phone calls!......
Thank you again to all.

Mojisola

I'mgettingthere!! wrote: »

The school won't have another meeting until they see the report.
Today I will start on the phone calls!......

If the school are dragging their feet, get straight on to the LA. They have a legal responsibility to provide education.

"If your child is too ill to attend school for more than 15 working days your local authority should be providing some education for them. If they provide home tuition this should be for at least 5 hours a week."

mysterywoman10

Sorry to hear of your daughter's problems.

If they are not very helpful that you need to speak to the Special Educationcal Needs section at your Local Authority as already explained. Many offer a parent partnership service which can help you advocate your daughters needs as mentioned. You can also ask your GP to send you to your local Child Assessment Centre which should be made up of a multi discinplinary team from Health professionals like OT's who can be very helpful with some cognitive problems and practical ways of dealing with them.

I would recommend not going the "personal injury route" as a claim against a hospital for negligence is different and is a very long drawn out legal business. You also have to prove the negligence led to the damage which it doesn't sound like it did. The original accident that caused it may be a slightly different matter if anyone was to blame?

It won't help get your daughters needs met educationally and this sounds to be the most pressing need.

Other advice has already been given on possible benefits.

I do hope she makes a full recovery soon.