Cerebral palsy claims

Cerebral palsy is a term used to refer to a set of neurological conditions (conditions that affect the brain and nervous system). These conditions affect a child’s movement and coordination.

Cerebral palsy is caused by damage sustained to the brain. This damage may occur before, during, or after birth.

The symptoms of cerebral palsy can vary in nature. Some children may have problems mobilising while others will be severely disabled and require care for the rest of their lives. It is estimated that 1 in every 400 children is born with cerebral palsy.

The symptoms of cerebral palsy tend not to be noticeable in early infancy, but gradually become more obvious as the child’s nervous system matures. Problems and disabilities related to cerebral palsy range from very mild to very severe. The severity of cerebral palsy is related to the severity of the brain damage. They may be very subtle symptoms that are only noticeable only to trained and experienced medical professionals, or may be obvious to the parents and other caregivers.

The symptoms of cerebral palsy are:

• Delayed developments such as controlling head, rolling over, reaching with one hand, sitting without support, crawling, or walking
• Persistence of “infantile” or “primitive” reflexes, which normally disappear 3-6 months after birth
• Developing handedness before age 18 months: This indicates weakness or abnormal muscle tone on one side, which may be an early sign of cerebral palsy
• Abnormal muscle tone: Muscles may be very stiff (spastic) or unusually relaxed and “floppy.” Limbs may be held in unusual or awkward positions. For example, spastic leg muscles may cause legs to cross in a scissor-like position
• Abnormal movements: Movements may be unusually jerky or abrupt, or slow and writhing
• Skeletal deformities: People who have cerebral palsy on only one side may have shortened limbs on the affected side. If not corrected by surgery or a device, this can lead to tilting of the pelvic bones and scoliosis (curvature of the spine)
• Joint contractures: People with spastic cerebral palsy may develop severe stiffening of the joints because of unequal pressures on the joints exerted by muscles of differing tone or strength
• Mental retardation: Some, although not all, children with cerebral palsy are affected by mental retardation
• Speech problems: Speech is partly controlled by movements of muscles of the tongue, mouth, and throat. Some individuals with cerebral palsy are unable to control these muscles and thus cannot speak normally
• Swallowing problems: Swallowing is a very complex function that requires precise interaction of many groups of muscles. People with cerebral palsy who are unable to control these muscles will have problems sucking, eating, drinking, and controlling their saliva. They may drool. An even greater risk is aspiration, the inhalation into the lungs of food or fluids from the mouth or nose. This can cause infection or even suffocation
• Hearing loss: Partial hearing loss is not unusual in people with cerebral palsy. The child may not respond to sounds or may have delayed speech
• Vision problems: Three quarters of people with cerebral palsy have strabismus, which is the turning in or out of one eye. This is due to weakness of the muscles that control eye movement. These people are often nearsighted. If not corrected, strabismus can lead to more severe vision problems over time
• Dental problems: People with cerebral palsy tend to have more cavities than usual. This results from both defects in tooth enamel and difficulties brushing the teeth
• Bowel and/or bladder control problems: These are caused by lack of muscle control

Unfortunately there is not a cure for cerebral palsy, but if you feel you or someone you know may have been a victim of clinical negligence then get in touch with our cerebral palsy lawyers to see if you can make a cerebral palsy claim.

The aim of any compensation is to improve your quality of life, whether this pays for specialist care or simply home adaptions. Our goal is to get you back to normality as quickly as possible and that’s we put out client health at the forefront of our mind when dealing with your medical negligence claim.

We will look at the compensation for your injuries as well as the financial losses you have as a result of medical negligence. Compensation is made up of general and special damages.

General damages

General damages compensate you for the injury itself: the pain and suffering you have already experienced and will continue to go through and what you are no longer able to do as a result of medical negligence.

In order to accurately inform you of the level of damages that you may be awarded, we will arrange for specialist reports to be obtained from various leading medical and legal authorities. They will examine you and have access to your medical records and be able to provide an accurate diagnosis and prognosis within their report. Once this evidence is in place, we will be able to notify you how much we think that your claim is going to be worth.

Special damages

Special damages are to compensate you for any past or future losses that have incurred or will incur as a direct result of the medical negligence which caused your injuries.

Past losses include:

• private medical treatment and rehabilitation
• prescription charges/medication
• the purchase of aids and appliances
• loss of earnings
• travel expenses
• care costs
• personal belongings and clothing damaged in the accident
• housing adaptations

Future losses can include:

• future loss of earnings
• loss of pension
• accommodation costs
• future private medical treatment and rehabilitation
• care costs
• aids and appliances

This list is not exhaustive, and we will carefully consider your situation and will try to anticipate your future needs.

We suggest that you start to keep a list of things that you have had to pay for since, and as a direct result of the medical negligence injury. We will need to prove the financial losses and documentary evidence such as wage slips, receipts and invoices will be very important in proving your special damages claim. In addition, it may also be sensible to keep a log or brief diary of problems that you encounter as this will help us to prepare comprehensive witness statements.

Personal injury and medical negligence cases are subject to time limits. It is best to contact a solicitor as early as possible to ensure your case can be dealt with.

Generally, the time limit for a medical negligence case is three years from the date the treatment took place or the date you were made aware that something had gone wrong. These rules can be extremely complex and varied and a lawyer will be able to check which time limit applies to you after some initial investigations. In some cases, time limits can be extended.

If a child suffers negligent care, a claim can be made up until their 21st birthday. Claims relating to children must be made by an adult on their behalf.

If a claim is brought on behalf of someone who does not have mental capacity, the three-year time limit does not apply. However, if mental capacity is regained, the three-year period will start at this time.

We will discuss the time limits with you during our initial consultation.

We will provide you with our free initial opinion in relation to your claim. After our assessment, we will tell you whether you have a reasonable chance of success, and you can instruct us to act on your behalf.

If you choose to instruct us we can offer you a no win, no fee agreement where possible, meaning you won’t be charged legal fees if you are unsuccessful. If your claim is successful, compensation will be awarded to you. A success fee will be deducted from the compensation. All other legal fees will be covered by the defendant should the case be successful.

All the financial information will be discussed with you, free of charge, before you decide to instruct us.