Cerebral Palsy Claims — Birth Injury Compensation

Cerebral Palsy — Causes and Types

Cerebral palsy is the most common childhood physical disability. It describes a group of permanent disorders of movement and posture resulting from injury to or abnormal development of the brain. Cerebral palsy may be spastic (affecting muscle tone and causing stiff or weak muscles), dyskinetic (involuntary movements), ataxic (affecting balance and coordination), or a mixed type.

Cerebral palsy can arise from many causes, not all of which involve negligence. Genetic factors, antenatal infections, extreme prematurity, and brain injuries in the early neonatal period account for many cases. Legal claims arise specifically where the brain injury that caused the cerebral palsy occurred during labour and delivery and could have been avoided with competent obstetric and midwifery care.

Obstetric Failures That Can Cause Cerebral Palsy

Intrapartum hypoxia — oxygen deprivation during labour and delivery — is the pathway through which obstetric negligence most commonly causes cerebral palsy. Failures that can lead to intrapartum hypoxia include:

• Failure to monitor the fetal heart rate adequately via CTG
• Failure to recognise CTG abnormalities indicating fetal distress
• Delay in decision to perform an emergency caesarean section
• Delay in actually delivering by emergency caesarean once the decision is made
• Mismanagement of shoulder dystocia
• Failure to diagnose and manage cord prolapse or placental abruption promptly
• Inappropriate use of oxytocin (Syntocinon) causing uterine hyperstimulation
• Delay in neonatal resuscitation

What Compensation Can Cover

Cerebral palsy claims involving severe disability can result in the largest personal injury awards in England and Wales. Compensation may include:

• General damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity
• Lifetime care costs — typically the largest single element
• Specialist accommodation and necessary adaptations
• Therapies — physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, hydrotherapy
• Specialist equipment — communication aids, powered wheelchairs, orthotics, beds
• Specialist education — specialist school placements, educational support
• Transport and vehicle adaptations
• Lost future earnings

Building a comprehensive schedule of future losses requires input from care experts, occupational therapists, accommodation specialists, education specialists and financial experts. We work with leading experts in each field.

No Win, No Fee Cerebral Palsy Claims

We act under a Conditional Fee Agreement. If the claim fails, you pay nothing. If the claim succeeds, a success fee may be deducted from your compensation. Legal Aid may also be available for birth injury claims — we can advise on eligibility.