My child client’s parent has been asked to sign a parental indemnity. What should I advise?
My 10-year-old client was knocked over by a car and sustained a significant fracture. The driver’s insurers approached the parents with a reasonable settlement offer, which they wish to accept. The insurers will not release the monies unless a parental indemnity is signed. What should I do?
First, it would be advisable to point out to the insurance company that under no circumstances should they correspond directly with the litigation friend where they are aware that you are on the record as acting for them.
Rule 21.10 of the Civil Procedure Rules states:
“No settlement, compromise or payment (including any voluntary payment) and no acceptance of money paid into court shall be valid, so far as it relates to a claim by, on behalf of or against a child or protected party, without the approval of the court.”
You would not be acting in the best interests of your client if you were to advise the parent to settle the son’s claim through the use of a form of parental indemnity.
In doing so, you might expose your firm to a claim for professional negligence at some future date.
Any settlement arising from the use of parental indemnity would not be recognised as valid by the court.
Disclaimer
While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information in this article, it does not constitute legal advice and cannot be relied upon as such. The Law Society does not accept any responsibility for liabilities arising as a result of reliance upon the information given.
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