A Guide to the cerebral palsy claim process

For Every Birth. For Every Baby. For Every Family.

Making a cerebral palsy claim is a complex process that usually takes a few years to reach an outcome. In this guide, we offer expert cerebral palsy claim advice and outline the key stages in the litigation process to help you understand what to expect.

What is cerebral palsy?

Cerebral palsy is a lifelong condition that affects movement, muscle tone, and coordination. It happens when a baby’s brain develops abnormally or is damaged during pregnancy, birth, or shortly after delivery. The condition can present in different ways, depending on the cerebral palsy type, spastic, dyskinetic, ataxic, hypotonic, or mixed, each with its own challenges. Symptoms may include stiff or weak muscles, difficulty with balance and coordination, involuntary movements, or problems with speech and swallowing.

While some cases of cerebral palsy are unavoidable, others may result from medical negligence during pregnancy, labour, or neonatal care. This is why many parents seek advice on whether they may be able to make a cerebral palsy compensation claim.

What causes cerebral palsy?

From our experience supporting families through cerebral palsy compensation claims, we know that the causes of cerebral palsy can vary, but in some cases, it is linked to avoidable birth injuries. Cerebral palsy develops when a baby’s brain is damaged before, during, or shortly after birth. This can happen due to oxygen deprivation (hypoxia), untreated infections in pregnancy, delays in delivering the baby, or improper monitoring of the mother and child during labour. In certain cases, negligent or substandard medical care has directly contributed to a child developing cerebral palsy, leaving families facing lifelong challenges. We have seen first-hand how devastating this can be, which is why our experts fight to secure the compensation and support parents need to care for their child.

Cerebral palsy symptoms

Through our work with families pursuing a cerebral palsy compensation claim, we’ve seen that symptoms can vary greatly depending on the type and severity of the condition. Some signs of cerebral palsy in babies show signs shortly after birth, while in others, symptoms become clearer as they miss developmental milestones. Common cerebral palsy symptoms include stiff or floppy muscle tone, difficulties with movement or coordination, delayed sitting, crawling, or walking, involuntary movements, problems with speech or swallowing, and in some cases, seizures. We know from supporting our clients that these symptoms can affect every part of daily life, from education to independence. Each child is unique, and the way cerebral palsy presents, and the level of support required, differs in every case, which is why we take the time to understand each family’s situation in detail.

What is a cerebral palsy compensation claim?

A cerebral palsy compensation claim is a legal process that allows families to seek financial support where the condition has been caused by negligent or sub-standard medical care. While many cases of cerebral palsy are unavoidable, we have supported families whose child’s condition developed due to avoidable mistakes during pregnancy, labour, delivery, or neonatal care. Through our experience, we have seen first-hand the life-changing impact this can have, from the need for long-term therapy and specialist equipment to adapted housing and round-the-clock care. A compensation claim is designed to secure the funding and resources a family needs to manage these challenges and to give their child the best possible future.

Can I make a cerebral palsy claim?

If your child’s cerebral palsy was caused by negligent care during pregnancy, labour, or shortly after birth, you may be entitled to make a cerebral palsy compensation claim. Speaking with a specialist birth injury solicitor is the best way to understand your options and ensure your child receives the support they need for the future.

Cerebral palsy claim time limit

If you are considering making a cerebral palsy compensation claim, it’s important to understand the time limits involved. In most medical negligence cases, you have three years from the date of injury or the date you became aware that negligence may have caused the condition. However, when it comes to children with cerebral palsy, the rules are different. The three-year time limit does not begin until the child turns 18, meaning claims can be made up until their 21st birthday.

For parents making a claim on behalf of their child while they are under 18, there is no immediate time restriction. In addition, if the child lacks mental capacity due to the severity of their condition, the time limit may not apply at all. Because every case is unique, it’s essential to get advice from an experienced birth injury solicitor as soon as possible. Acting early can ensure vital evidence is preserved and your child’s future care and support needs are fully considered.

Why should you make a cerebral palsy compensation claim?

If your child has cerebral palsy because of medical negligence, making a cerebral palsy compensation claim can help them and their family in several ways:

• Financial support: Caring for a child with cerebral palsy can be expensive. Compensation can help cover medical expenses, therapy, special education, and necessary home modifications.
• Quality of life: Compensation can improve the quality of life for both the child and their family by providing resources for better care and support.
• Accountability: Making a claim can hold medical professionals accountable for negligence, potentially preventing similar incidents in the future.
• Future security: Ensuring financial stability for the child’s future needs, including ongoing medical care and support.

Our experts will always be there to offer their help in making a cerebral palsy claim.

How to make a cerebral palsy claim

Making a claim can be a complex process that usually takes a few years to reach an outcome. Below our experts have broken down the process of making a cerebral palsy compensation claim and in doing so offered their expert cerebral palsy claim advice.

1. Initial consultation and investigation

Because of the length and complexity of the process it is crucial to get advice from an experienced, specialist cerebral palsy solicitor, and to be confident that you can work closely with them, often for many years – we become an integral part of many of our clients’ lives.

In the initial consultation we will take a detailed statement from you to establish the facts of what has happened and whether there is a valid claim for compensation. We want to understand:

• the sequence of events
• your understanding of what has gone wrong
• what you have been told by clinicians
• your child’s symptoms

This information will help us determine if we can investigate your case and whether it meets the criteria for available funding (see below for further information on funding).
If we get funding, we can start the investigation and begin gathering information and evidence. We will require medical records and expert reports. At this point, we appoint independent medical experts to review the case and provide expert opinions on liability and causation (put simply, who is responsible and what caused or contributed to the injury).

2. Letter of Claim

Once we have analysed the expert evidence with a barrister and clarified the case, we will draft a ‘letter of claim’ outlining the allegations of medical negligence or wrongdoing. This letter is sent to the healthcare provider or individual responsible for the care, starting the formal legal process. They have a set period, usually four months, to respond to the letter of claim.

3. Pre-action protocol

While we await the defendant’s response, we may have discussions with them and attempt to reach an early settlement. The pre-action protocol sets out certain steps and timelines that both sides must follow to exchange information and potentially resolve the claim before formal court proceedings begin.

4. Issuing court proceedings

If a settlement cannot be reached during the pre-action phase, we will file a claim with the court. This involves submitting formal legal documents, including Particulars of Claim, which outline the details of the case and the compensation we are seeking.

5. Defendant’s response

Once the claim is issued, the defendant has up to 28 days to respond by filing a defence. In their defence, they will either admit or deny liability and may present their version of events. If they admit liability, we will ask for an immediate interim payment. If they deny, we have to forensically assess the defence with our medical experts and the barrister and attempt to identify any further evidence we can obtain to prove the claim. We leave no stone unturned. If we receive an interim payment, we will put a care regime in place for your child, arrange accommodation if your current property is unsuitable, and buy any equipment or aids your child may need.

Sometimes a paediatric neurologist will say it is too early to give a long-term opinion on your child’s prognosis. In that case we must stay the proceedings (put them on hold) until such time as the child has reached a level of development that makes long-term assessments possible.

8. Settlement Negotiations

Throughout the litigation process, there may be opportunities for settlement negotiations and discussions between both parties. Many claims are resolved at this stage without the need for a court trial.

9. Trial

If a settlement cannot be reached, the case will proceed to trial. A judge will hear the evidence presented by both sides and decide on liability and the appropriate level of compensation. Evidence of quantum (the amount of compensation awarded) is vital. We spend a great deal of time meticulously putting together a detailed report listing every aspect of the care, support, equipment, aids and education your child is likely to need for the rest of their life.

10. Appeal

After the trial, either party may have the right to appeal the court’s decision, depending on the circumstances.

Expert Cerebral Palsy Solicitors

At Fletchers we have a vastly experienced birth injury team who are here to offer their help in making a cerebral palsy claim. Our team includes some of the most celebrated cerebral palsy solicitors in the industry, including:

Kashmir Uppal, a Partner at Fletchers, who’s experience speaks for itself, having previously been a Partner and joint national lead for clinical negligence at a national law firm, where she also ran the local team.

Sahida Patel, also a Partner at Fletchers, she eads the birth injury team in Leeds. She has over 27 years’ experience in representing claimants in complex and high value medical negligence claims, often involving birth injuries,  cerebral palsy or other brain injuries.

Successful cerebral palsy compensation claims

Over the years our expert team have secured hundreds of millions in compensation for clients who, have made cerebral palsy compensation claims, these including:

• A £14.6m settlement for a child with cerebral palsy that will help to provide care for rest of his life
• A £25 million settlement secured after Cerebral Palsy caused following delay in delivery
• £17 million pounds in cerebral palsy compensation secured after our client suffered grade 1 hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) resulting in permanent brain injury

Funding your cerebral palsy compensation claim

There are four main ways to fund a clinical negligence claim:

1. Legal Aid is still available for a neurological injury that is suffered at birth or in the eight weeks post-delivery, but it has become very difficult to run a case on Legal Aid.
2. Before the event insurance – like Legal Aid, it is also difficult to run a case this way.
3. Conditional fee agreement (no win, no fee) and After the Event Insurance – this is how the majority cases are run.
4. Private funding – a very costly option and we do not recommend it

If you would like to speak to a member of our team about a cerebral palsy claim, speak to Kashmir Uppal. Kashmir is a specialist medical negligence solicitor who has achieved multi-million pound settlements for children and young adults who have suffered brain injuries at the time of or shortly after birth.