Cerebral Palsy Compensation Claims: Was Your Child’s Condition Avoidable?

Short answer: Not every case of cerebral palsy is caused by negligence. You can claim compensation if your child’s cerebral palsy was caused by medical care that fell below an acceptable standard. Examples include a failure to act on signs that a baby was short of oxygen, a delayed delivery, or untreated infection, low blood sugar or jaundice after birth. A child usually has until their 21st birthday to claim, and the time limit does not normally run while they lack mental capacity to conduct the claim. It is still best to seek advice early so the applicable deadline can be checked.

Cerebral palsy is the name for a group of lifelong conditions that affect movement, posture and coordination, caused by damage to the developing brain before, during or shortly after birth. Many children with cerebral palsy live full and happy lives, but many also need significant care, therapy and support throughout their lives. When the brain injury was avoidable, compensation can pay for that support.

Is My Child’s Cerebral Palsy the Result of Negligence?

Cerebral palsy has many causes, including genetic conditions, infections during pregnancy and very premature birth, and in many cases nobody is at fault. A claim is possible where an avoidable mistake caused or worsened the brain injury. Common examples include:

• Failing to recognise or act on fetal distress, for example misreading the baby’s heart-rate monitoring (CTG) during labour
• Delaying delivery, including a delayed emergency caesarean or prolonged attempts at an assisted birth
• Mistakes during a forceps or ventouse delivery (see our guide to forceps delivery injury claims)
• Failing to resuscitate a baby properly at birth
• Failing to offer cooling treatment to a baby with suspected oxygen-deprivation brain injury, which is most effective when started within hours of birth
• Untreated infection, such as Group B Streptococcus or meningitis
• Untreated low blood sugar (neonatal hypoglycaemia)
• Untreated severe jaundice, which can cause a type of brain damage called kernicterus

How Do Experts Decide What Caused the Brain Injury?

The key questions are when the injury happened and whether different care would have prevented it. Independent experts, including obstetricians, midwives, neonatologists and paediatric neuroradiologists, review the maternity records, CTG traces and blood test results.

MRI brain scans are often central. Different patterns of damage can indicate whether the injury was caused by a sudden, severe lack of oxygen shortly before birth or by a more gradual process, and roughly when it occurred. This allows experts to say whether earlier action would probably have made a difference.

What Types of Cerebral Palsy Are There?

• Spastic cerebral palsy, the most common type, causing stiff, tight muscles
• Dyskinetic cerebral palsy, causing involuntary movements
• Ataxic cerebral palsy, affecting balance and coordination
• Mixed cerebral palsy, combining features of more than one type

Cerebral palsy can affect one side of the body (hemiplegia), mainly the legs (diplegia) or all four limbs (quadriplegia), and may be accompanied by epilepsy, learning disabilities and problems with sight, hearing, speech or feeding.

What Can Compensation Pay for?

Compensation in cerebral palsy claims is calculated to meet a child’s needs for the rest of their life. In the most serious cases, it can run into millions of pounds. It can cover:

• Professional care and support, day and night if needed
• Physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy and hydrotherapy
• Specialist equipment, wheelchairs, communication aids and technology
• Accessible housing or adaptations to the family home
• Adapted vehicles and transport
• Loss of future earnings
• Care already given by parents and family
• Case management to coordinate care and therapy

Large settlements are often paid partly as a lump sum and partly as annual payments for life. Interim payments can be made before the case is finished, so a child can start receiving care, therapy and equipment without waiting years.

Where a child lacks capacity to manage money, the compensation is usually managed by a deputy appointed by the Court of Protection, often a family member or a professional.

How Long Do I Have to Make a Cerebral Palsy Claim?

• Children: three years from their 18th birthday, so until they turn 21.
• Children who lack mental capacity: the relevant question is whether the child has capacity to conduct the claim, not how severe their physical disabilities are. Where the lack of capacity continues into adulthood and the applicable limitation exception applies, the time limit does not run while that lack of capacity continues. The position needs to be assessed individually.
• Parents’ own claims: a mother’s claim for her own injuries is separate from the child’s claim and usually has a three-year time limit. A parent’s psychiatric injury does not automatically give rise to a claim; strict legal requirements apply, particularly where the injury arises from witnessing harm to the child. Obtain individual advice on both eligibility and the applicable deadline.

It is still best to start early, because records, scans and witnesses are easier to obtain.

How Long Does a Cerebral Palsy Claim Take?

Cerebral palsy claims often take several years, because a child’s long-term needs cannot be fully understood until doctors can see how they develop, often not until the child is several years old. Liability (whether the hospital was at fault) can often be decided first, followed by interim payments while the child’s needs become clearer.

How Is a Cerebral Palsy Claim Funded?

Most claims are funded on a no win, no fee basis. Legal aid may also still be available for children who suffered a severe brain injury during pregnancy, birth or the first eight weeks of life. We will explain your options at our first conversation.

Frequently Asked Questions / Questions & Answers

My child is ten. Is it too late to claim? Almost certainly not. Children usually have until they turn 21, and longer if they lack capacity.

My baby was born prematurely. Can I still claim? Possibly. Premature babies are at higher risk of brain injury, but mistakes in their care, such as failing to manage infection or low blood sugar, can still be negligent.

Will my child have to go to court? Very rarely. Most cerebral palsy claims settle, and the court then approves the settlement to make sure it is in the child’s best interests.

Will a claim affect the NHS care my child receives? No. Claims are handled by NHS Resolution and should not affect your child’s treatment.

Speak to a Cerebral Palsy Solicitor

We understand how difficult it is to ask whether your child’s condition could have been avoided. Call +44 (0)20 3588 3500 or send us a confidential enquiry. Our team is a member of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL).