Cerebral Palsy Claims

If your child has cerebral palsy as a result of negligent treatment by doctors or midwives, we understand the impact this will have on your life. Our cerebral palsy solicitors know about the complex needs that your child will have, and can help you claim the compensation you deserve.

We’re one of a select group of law firms who can obtain legal aid for cerebral palsy claims. This means you’ll receive full funding for our investigation into your case, and subsequent legal representation. If legal aid isn’t available, we may be able to support you on a No Win No Fee basis, with no financial risk to you.*

We’ll investigate your cerebral palsy claim with the help of independent medical experts, working out what mistakes were made and how they could have been avoided. For example, medical negligence in cerebral palsy cases often involves a failure to:

Deliver the baby early enough or by caesarean
Monitor the baby’s heartbeat
Respond to the umbilical cord being wrapped around the baby’s neck

Our dedicated lawyers will guide you through the claims process, putting you in touch with relevant charity, healthcare and rehabilitation contacts. Where responsibility is admitted early by the hospital or NHS trust, we could be able to secure early compensation payments to help with your child’s rehabilitation and care. Our solicitors can also advise you and your family if your going through the NHS Early Notification Scheme.

We have decades of experience helping people claim cerebral palsy compensation, and have secured many significant lifetime rehabilitation packages for our clients. Some recent cerebral palsy claims that we’ve been involved in include:

January 2019 – £8.2 million pound settlement for a girl born with cerebral palsy due to a delay in treating her mother's gestational diabetes.
November 2016 – multi-million pound settlement for a little girl whose cerebral palsy was caused by negligent treatment of a Group Strep B infection.
April 2016 – £9.45 million pound compensation award for a boy after delays sending his mother for an emergency C-section caused his cerebral palsy.

If you’ve been affected by cerebral palsy as a result of medical negligence, please call 0800 121 6567 or contact us for a free initial consultation about your claim.

Legal aid available for some cases*

Links with support groups and charities

Recognised by independent legal guides

Offices across the country

Call our experts FREE on:

0800 121 6567

Or we can call you back at a time of your choice

Phone lines are open 24/7, 365 days a year

Freephone

0800 121 6567

Prefer not to call?

Use our form

Your name*

Your email*

Your phone number*

How can we help?*

This data will only be used by Irwin Mitchell for processing your query and for no other purpose.

Lisa Jordan Partner Meet the team

Cerebral Palsy Claims - More Information

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, 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 support and rehabilitation coordinators 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. We helped secure a vital compensation package for Edward, amounting to £10.2m over his lifetime.

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

Click here for more information, factsheets and template letters.

Wills

We have specialist Wills solicitors who can help with any issues surrounding Wills and who can also assist if you’re claiming on behalf of a loved one who has unfortunately passed away.

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.

It’s not an easy situation to deal with, but there is assistance out there which has a massive positive impact on not just Mac’s life but ours too – and we wanted to share that with others."

Valerie, client's mum

Frequently Asked Questions

What Constitutes Cerebral Palsy Negligence?

In most cases, cerebral palsy happens before birth due to abnormal brain development. However, around 10% of children with cerebral palsy develop the disorder as a result of damage to their brain during or after birth. If you think that this happened to you, we could help you claim compensation.

Our specialist birth injury solicitors will investigate what happened during birth and, if we find evidence of incompetent care, we’ll seek answers from the organisation responsible for your treatment.

Some examples of medical negligence include a failure to:

Act on signs of foetal distress
Deliver the baby by caesarean
Deliver the baby early enough
Monitor the baby’s heartbeat correctly
Respond properly to the umbilical cord being wrapped around the baby’s neck

After the baby has been born, it’s vital that they’re monitored for conditions and infections that might lead to cerebral palsy. We’ve helped families who suffered after doctors failed to diagnose or monitor:

Meningitis
Hypoglycaemia
Jaundice (kernicterus)

How Much Cerebral Palsy Compensation Will I Receive?

Cerebral palsy compensation packages need to take the individual’s lifetime needs into account, which means claims often settle for millions of pounds.

Many of our clients receive a large initial lump sum that could be put towards a more suitable house, then periodical payments paid annually for the rest of their life. The annual payments are calculated to cover the costs of care and any specialist equipment/treatment that might be needed.

We know that the true extent of a child’s cerebral palsy won’t always become clear until they’re older, and we’ll make sure that this is taken into account by the compensation. We also recognise that in some cases cerebral palsy worsens over time – your compensation package will allow for this possibility.

You’ll receive expert advice about protecting your funds from our Court of Protection team, the largest in the country. Similarly, our IM Asset Management department offers specialist guidance on making the most of your compensation for the future.

What Are The Time Limits For Making A Cerebral Palsy Claim?

If you are making a claim on behalf of your child, you can start a claim at any point before they turn 18.
If your child is over 18, the time limit for making a cerebral palsy claim will depend on the level of mental capacity they have.
In cases where people lack the mental capacity to make a claim themselves, there is no time limit to make a claim.
In cases where you have cerebral palsy and the mental capacity to make a claim yourself, and you are over 18, you have until you are 21 to make a claim.

When making a cerebral palsy claim, it’s important to contact us as soon as possible. Making a claim sooner rather than later can mean that we could help you access early compensation payments to meet your immediate needs. Please call us on 0800 121 6567 or contact us online to arrange a free initial consultation with one of our lawyers.

About Irwin Mitchell

Contact Us

Give us a ring to speak to a member of our team in the strictest confidence. Or you can fill out our contact form and we'll ring you back.

Our phone lines are open 24/7, 365 days a year

Get a call back

Fill in your details below and we'll be in touch as soon as possible

Your name*

Your phone number*

Your email*

Your comments*

This data will only be used by Irwin Mitchell for processing your query and for no other purpose.

Cookies

Cerebral Palsy Claims

Call our experts FREE on:

Cerebral Palsy Claims - More Information

What Will Happen When I Make A Cerebral Palsy Claim?

Do You Get Legal Aid For Cerebral Palsy Cases?

Can I Make A Claim On A No Win No Fee Basis?

How Our Other Teams Can Help

Can Irwin Mitchell Help With NHS Early Notification Scheme Claims?