Young children often cannot express exactly what pain they are in – especially babies. It can be hard to determine where a young child or baby is in pain and what exactly they are suffering from. If a baby or young child has been involved in a road traffic accident, some people think that because of their age they are unable to claim personal injury compensation. This is where they are wrong. If a young child or baby has been injured in a road traffic accident, they are entitled by law to claim for personal injury compensation just as much as anyone else – and because I assume strongly they were a passenger at the time of the accident, they have a very strong success rate for a whiplash claim.
But how can you tell if your child or baby has whiplash symptoms?
Well, some babies may get ‘shaken baby syndrome.’ This is caused due to the violent shaking of a baby’s head. Shaken baby syndrome can occur from as little as 5 seconds of shaking. After all, it must be remembered, that baby’s heads are a very delicate part of their body. Not only can this injury occur in children younger than 2 years old, but it can also occur in children up to the age of 5.
When a young child or baby is shaken, like when they are involved in a road traffic collision, their brain bounces back and forth against the skull. Some of the symptoms may include:
- Decreased alertness
- Extreme irritability or other changes in behavior
- Sleepiness, not smiling
- Loss of consciousness
- Loss of vision
- Breathing issues
- Pale or bluish skin
- Poor feeding, lack of appetite
- Vomiting
As babies have heavy heads this makes them vulnerable to whiplash in the event of a road traffic accident. It is important to ensure that you protect your child from any injuries by using a rear-facing baby seat to support an infant’s head and spine from whiplash. During a car collision, a baby will be pitched forward and the risk of neck injury and whiplash may increase if a baby is in a front-facing baby seat as their heads will be forced to move forward quickly. Rear-facing seats move a baby forward with the car, instead of against.
If your young child or baby has been involved in a road traffic accident and you want an expert personal injury solicitor to get your son or daughter the maximum amount of compensation, do not hesitate to call us today.
