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Child’s injuries highlight need for appropriate safety harness

A 15-month-old boy who was being held on his 26-year-old mother’s lap has suffered serious lacerations, burns and other injuries to his face and body after an accident at 05:00 on October 14.

Police say that the young child was not restrained by a safety capsule or seat belt when the Toyota HiAce van – being driven by his 30-year-old father – ran into the back of a parked truck on Bowden Street at Harris Park.

The boy’s injuries were sustained when the vehicle’s safety airbags deployed during the collision with the stationary vehicle.

Emergency services report that he was taken to Westmead Children’s Hospital for treatment of his internal injuries – he remains there in a critical but stable condition.

The mother was reportedly trapped in the van for over an hour while fire and rescue crews tried to reach her, finally cutting her free of the wrecked vehicle.

She was also taken to Westmead with spinal, neck, chest and leg injuries, while the father only sustained minor injuries.

However, the 30-year-old driver was required to undergo mandatory drug and alcohol testing at the nearby medical facility.

Police from the Metropolitan Crash Investigation Unit have already examined the scene of the collision and will be conducting a formal interview with the parents at some later stage.

In New South Wales, crash victims who could be considered to be partially at fault may still be able to access car accident compensation.

Contributing factors – such as not being restrained by a seat belt – can be taken into account when determining the amount to be paid.

The occupants of the vehicle in this case may require extensive medical therapies and ongoing rehabilitation treatments – all of which can be expensive to procure.

Some of the costs can be recovered through the Motor Accidents Scheme, with payments made to help ease the financial burden incurred by victims.

These can also be made to people who were not directly involved in a collision, such as passengers and motorcycle pillions.

While the initial cost of launching a claim may seem daunting, a no win no fee lawyer is able to give individuals a helping hand by assessing the strength of their case through an initial consultation – a process that can be handled face to face or over the phone.

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Meet the diverse and dynamic team of compensation lawyers and supporting staff that have made this all happen below. Our multi-lingual team can discuss your claims in Arabic, Assyrian, Turkish, Greek, Italian, French, Serbian, Croatian, Armenian, Mandarin, Hindi, Punjabi or Malayalam.

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