What Will Happen When I Make A Claim?
After you’ve contacted us, we’ll set up a free initial consultation to discuss your case and whether you have a legal claim on behalf of your child. We’ll discuss what funding options are available to you to pay for your claim, including either Legal Aid for a Child’s claim or a
No Win No Fee agreement *.
We’ll then get in touch with those responsible for your child’s negligent treatment at an early stage to see if they accept the blame for your child’s injuries. If they accept responsibility, we’ll try to secure interim compensation payments which can fund private medical care and ongoing expenses, before the claim fully settles. Any interim payments will be taken out of your final compensation award.
Our experts will look into your case in detail, gathering evidence from independent medical professionals. These experts evaluate what care your child should have received and can determine any future implications to their health. They’ll also advise us on the care they will need in the future.
We’ll always try and negotiate claims out of court, keeping the claim process as short as we can. However, if your opponent doesn’t accept responsibility or doesn’t agree with the amount of compensation we feel you need, we’ll start court proceedings.
Even when trial dates have been set, claims are still often settled before reaching court. If your claim does need to go to court, we’ll be there to help you every step of the way, talking you through what will happen so you feel as comfortable as possible.
What Are The Time Limits For Making A Claim?
In most medical negligence cases you have three years to make a compensation claim, starting from the date the injury happened (or the date you first became aware that the injury was a result of negligence). For children, this three year period begins on their 18th birthday, so you have until they’re 21 to make a claim.
However, there’s no time limit for people with profound mental difficulties (this applies to many cerebral palsy cases, for example). So, even if you didn’t make a claim for a loved one with cerebral palsy within the usual time limits, you can still begin a claim with our solicitors later on.
It’s important to contact us as soon as possible so that we can begin to investigate your claim. If you have questions or concerns about the time limits, please call us for free initial advice on 0800 121 6567 .
Do You Handle Legal Aid Cases?
Yes, we can accept legal aid for clinical negligence claims involving serious neurological birth injuries like cerebral palsy that happened within eight weeks of the child’s birth.
We’re one of a select group of law firms that can take on legal aid cases in medical negligence. To qualify for legal aid, there is a means test (based on any savings the baby has) and a merit test that simply requires that there’s enough reason for us to investigate the case.
If your claim qualifies, then you’ll receive funding for our initial investigation and you won’t have to pay anything yourself. After that, you’ll receive legal aid funding for full representation if we take your case on.
Our specialist lawyers will talk you through the different funding options available to you.
Can I Make A Claim On A No Win No Fee Basis?
Many of our cases are funded with a No Win No Fee agreement. This means that there’s no financial risk* to you when making a compensation claim.
At the start of your case we’ll discuss funding options with you, advising you which we think is most suitable. If you have legal expenses insurance (LEI) or are covered by a trade union policy, these may be best for you. Legal expenses insurance is included in many household insurance policies, so it’s always worth checking whether you’re already covered.
If we think you’re best supported by a No Win No Fee agreement, we’ll explain the process clearly. This involves setting up an insurance policy that will protect you, at no cost to you. You’ll only have to pay anything when your claim is successful – your opponent will pay most of our fees.
Please visit our No Win No Fee * page for more information on how it works.
Meet The Team
Our expert solicitors have decades of experience in medical negligence cases and are nationally renowned for their expertise. With offices up and down the country, we’re recognised by independent legal guides as one of the UK’s best medical negligence departments.
For some people getting an apology and explanation for what’s happened is just as important as a compensation award. We campaign for systems to be put in place that ensure the same thing doesn’t happen to somebody else.
View our experts
How Our Other Teams Can Help
Because we’re a full-service law firm, we also have a number of other in-house teams with specialist knowledge in areas such as rehabilitation, local authority funding, Wills and asset management.
Rehabilitation
We see rehabilitation as key and will make sure that you can access the care and support services your child needs to lead the best life possible. Our client liaison managers can provide support and information to you and your family, helping you with many of the “non-legal” problems you may face such as benefit eligibility and healthcare.
Public Law & Human Rights
Our Public Law & Human Rights department can offer advice on Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014. The Act made sweeping reforms to child welfare legislation, affecting young people with special education needs under the age of 25. It replaced statements of special educational needs and learning difficulty assessments with a combined Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC plan).
We can advise you on:
The new assessment process
EHC plans
Duties of schools
Challenging decisions
Asset Management
Our Asset Management team can provide advice on how your compensation could be best invested so that it’s there for the rest of your child’s life. We also have Court of Protection lawyers who can set up a personal injury trust , which protects your compensation and ensures that you remain eligible for any benefits you’re entitled to.
Court of Protection
We have the largest Court of Protection department in the UK, which helps people manage their affairs when they don’t have the mental capacity to do it themselves. This means we can help you safeguard your child’s financial future.
