Wirral family wins compensation after son, 3, attacked by another toddler with car jack

Nov 18 2009 by Liam Murphy, Heswall News

A LANDMARK legal battle means a Wirral family can claim compensation after their three year old son was attacked by another toddler with a car jack.

Jay Jones needed stitches in his head after the horror attack while he and another child were left alone for a few minutes in the back of a car in Birkenhead.

His mum, make-up artist Renai Williams, 29, said Jay was eventually rescued when his attacker’s parents heard his screams and noticed the car windscreen had been cracked during the ferocious assault.

Now, in a legal first, Kirwans Solicitors has won a ruling allowing Jay, now five, to claim for compensation for the injuries he received even though his attacker was never prosecuted because of his age.

His mum Renai said her son still remembers the attack but added: “We tell him we will never let anyone hurt him like that again.”

She and her partner David had been due to enjoy a post-Christmas dinner with friends and had let their son travel ahead with them while they woke up their younger son Calum planning to follow later. She said: “We were getting ready to get into the car when we received a phone call from the other family saying we had better come quickly.

“We drove round, but we weren’t too worried – boys fight.

“But when we got there we noticed the crack in the car windscreen – that was the first bit of panic.

“Then the other parents came running out the house.

“David got out of the car saying ‘where’s Jay?’

“They pointed to the house and he went inside and I heard him shouting ‘what happened?’ and they pointed to the car jack which had blood on it.

“David came out carrying Jay who was covered in blood and all limp. He just looked dead.”

Jay spent two nights in hospital and suffered bruising to his head and defence wounds on his arms.

He suffered nightmares for months afterwards.

Renai added: “This has been a long and hard-fought process, we have been knocked back twice by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) because in my opinion they didn’t take my son’s case seriously.”

Michelle Armstrong of Kirwans Solicitors said: “We argued that the age of the perpetrator was irrelevant when claiming compensation from the CICA. And it was on this point that we won.”