Cerebral Palsy claims often surround the most significant and devastating claims stemming from obstetric errors. Most often not delivering the baby when there are signs of foetal stress. CP is a condition that affects the brain. A useful analogy to think about is imagine the brain is like an alphabet and each letter of the alphabet is responsible for making sure certain developmental mile stones are reached. Just like the alphabet the brain’s development follows a sequence as the child gets older. If the sequence is interrupted at an early stage, before brain development is completed, then nothing beyond that break can develop.
Typically, although not always, CP is caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain during labour and/or while the baby is being delivered. When we are born our brains are not fully developed, for example we cannot speak, walk or comprehend the world. In the most extreme cases, when the brain injury happens at this early stage of development, the injured child will never be able to walk, talk, see and hear properly, care for themselves or live any kind of normal life. These children will often have extremely complex and expensive care needs which will be needed for the rest of their lives.
If you think your child’s condition was caused by a mistake which may have been caused by clinical negligence, you may wish to seek legal advice from a specialist birth injury solicitors about bringing a claim for compensation.
How can we help?
Many children with CP have very complicated care needs and require specialist input from many different disciplines. Generally any medical support you need will be provided for by the NHS or Local Authority. However, due to budget restrictions it is not always possible to fund the best possible care package. Securing compensation where there has been negligence will make sure that your child has enough money in trust for them to pay for the best possible care money can buy for the rest of their life.
Medical Negligence Group 