Litigation Friend
One of the special rules relating to claims involving a child is that an adult, known as a litigation friend, must bring the claim on the child's behalf. This person is usually a parent. They must be able to act fairly and competently and must act in the best interests of the child. In addition, the litigation friend must have no interest in the claim. This means that in certain cases, the child's parents cannot act as litigation friend, for example where the child was injured in a road traffic accident and a parent was the driver of the car carrying the child.
In appropriate cases, a professional litigation friend can be appointed by the solicitor or the court.