Cerebral Palsy Solicitors

How to make a cerebral palsy claim with JCP Solicitors

Our birth injury solicitors in Wales can support and guide you through the entire process of making a cerebral palsy claim. We aim to keep the process as straightforward, as possible, and to secure a fair settlement so that your child can get the help and support that they need.

In most cases, we are able to achieve a fair settlement without the need for court action, meaning we can resolve your claim more quickly and without the need for you to attend a Court hearing.

We have a strong track history of success, and the experience to ensure your claim progresses as smoothly as possible whilst giving you the strongest chance of a positive outcome.

How cerebral palsy compensation claims work

The following is a breakdown of the main stages in a standard cerebral palsy compensation claim, giving you some idea of what to expect and how long the process is likely to take.

At the beginning– We will assess the strength of your claim and give you a realistic idea of your chances of success and how much compensation you may be able to secure.

Building your case – This typically involves obtaining your medical records, collecting witness evidence and consulting independent medical experts to put together a detailed picture of what happened before, during and after the birth and the impact of the birth injury on your child.

Submitting a claim – Our solicitors will issue a Letter of Claim to the defendant (which may be the Health Board or NHS Trust responsible for the hospital where your child was born) in accordance with the Pre-Action Protocol for the Resolution of Clinical Disputes. This will set out the details of your claim and the allegations of negligence.

The defendant’s response – The defendant has 4 months to respond to the letter of claim. In the response they must either accept full or partial responsibility for the medical negligence or deny any negligence occurred.

If they accept liability, it may be possible for us to then progress to obtain the necessary evidence to determine the value of your child’s case. This will include considering not only the care and support that your child needs now, but the likely care, support and treatment that they may need in the future and for the rest of their lives, if necessary.

Initiating Court proceedings – If the defendant denies responsibility or we cannot agree a suitable amount of compensation, we can then initiate Court proceedings. This involves submitting a claim to the relevant Court, which will then set a trial date. This court date will often be around 18 months from the time proceedings are initiated, but most claims that reach this stage are resolved during pre-trial negotiations allowing a faster resolution.

Pre-trial settlement negotiations – While waiting for the Court hearing, we will negotiate with the defendant to try to agree a pre-trial settlement. We may also use alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods, such as mediation and arbitration, to try to agree a mutually acceptably outcome.

Court hearing – If your case goes to trial, we will ensure you have the best possible representation to give you the strongest chance of securing a fair settlement. You will normally have to attend this hearing, but if you are unable to, it is sometimes possible to give evidence in writing or by video link depending on the circumstances.

Time limits for cerebral palsy claims

When seeking compensation for any type of birth injury due to medical negligence, including those related to cerebral palsy, you usually have until your child’s 21^st birthday to start a claim.

The exception to this is if your child does not have the mental capacity to bring a claim for themselves e.g. if they were left with serious learning difficulties due to their birth injury. In this case, there is no time limit for you to bring a claim on their behalf.

Funding cerebral palsy compensation claims

Knowing how you will fund a compensation claim for cerebral palsy is an important consideration when thinking about starting a claim. There are three ways you can usually get funding for a claim without needing to provide the money for the legal fees yourself up front.

Legal aid cerebral palsy claims – While most types of medical negligence claims no longer qualify for legal aid, birth injury claims are the exception. This means that depending on your circumstances, you may be able to have some or all of the costs of pursuing a cerebral palsy claim covered for you.

No win, no fee cerebral palsy claims – More formally known as ‘conditional fee arrangements’ this type of funding means that you only pay legal fees if your claim is successful. The amount you pay will be based on a percentage of any settlement secured, so no matter the size of your settlement, you will not lose out.

Insurance policy funded cerebral palsy claims – Some home insurance and personal insurance policies include legal protection cover and this can often be used to fund medical negligence claims for cerebral palsy.

Why use our cerebral palsy solicitors for your claim?

JCP Solicitors has one of the largest and most effective medical negligence claims teams in Wales with decades of experience dealing with all types of birth injury claims, including cerebral palsy claims. Our solicitors hold memberships of the Law Society Clinical Negligence Panel, the UK Acquired Brain Injury Forum, the Law Society Personal Injury Panel and we are recommended by leading brain injury charity Headway.

We are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) providing assurance that we continually meet the highest legal and professional standards.

Our medical negligence team includes fluent Welsh speakers and JCP Solicitors has a dedicated Welsh Language Co-ordinator meaning our services are fully accessible in both English and Welsh. We are happy to speak with you in person, over the phone, by email or using video messaging, making it as convenient as possible to get in touch.

We have a number of offices covering the whole of South Wales, East Wales and West Wales, including in Swansea and Cardiff. Find out more by taking a look at the contact details for our other law offices in Wales.

Your questions about cerebral palsy claims answered

Can I claim compensation for my child’s cerebral palsy?

To be able to make a claim, it must be shown that your child’s cerebral palsy was caused as the result of a birth injury due to medical negligence. This doesn’t just mean that mistakes were made during the birth, but rather that the level of care you and your child received fell below reasonably acceptable standards.

The general test applied to establish whether negligence occurred is that the care provided was below the standard any competent medical professional in the same field of medicine would have been expected to meet under the same circumstances.

How much compensation can you get for cerebral palsy?

The level of settlement you can expect will normally be determined by a number of factors, including:

• The severity of your child’s resulting injuries
• The impact on your child’s life
• The care, assistance and therapies needed as a result of the injuries suffered for the rest of your child’s life

Medical negligence compensation normally comes in two forms – general damages and special damages.

• Special damages cover the financial impact of the injury e.g. cost of treatment or lost income.
• General damages cover non-financial losses e.g. pain and suffering and any negative impact on your child’s lifestyle.

How long does it take to get compensation for cerebral palsy?

While we will work with you to reach a settlement as quickly as possible, it is important to realise that birth injury claims for medical negligence take time. Depending on the circumstances, it can sometimes take 3 years or more to reach a settlement.

When dealing with cerebral palsy claims, it is sometimes necessary to wait until the full impact of the condition, and how it impacts upon your child, is known before settling a claim. This is because the full extent of the injury might not be apparent during the first few years of a child’s life. That said, it is recommended to speak to one of our specialist birth injury solicitors as soon as possible after the birth so we can begin collecting the necessary evidence and advise you on how to proceed.

Start a cerebral palsy compensation claim today

Get in touch with our cerebral palsy solicitors in Wales about starting a claim now by calling 033 3320 9244 or use the contact form above to request a callback.