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Cerebral Palsy Solicitors

Cerebral Palsy Solicitors

Approximately 1 in 400 babies born in the UK are affected by cerebral palsy. The condition is a motor and development disability that can be caused by an injury to the brain sustained before, during, or just after birth. We understand that the emotional and financial impact on affected families is profound. Our specialist cerebral palsy solicitors are here to listen and to help. Recognised by Legal 500 as one of the top medical negligence solicitors in England and Wales, we are dedicated to helping your family meet the complex lifelong needs of your child making living with cerebral palsy a little easier.

Fully diagnosing CP can take until your child is aged 4 or 5 with the condition affecting each individual differently. Cerebral palsy causes a range of complex problems which can include motor coordination, movement, and posture for children. Because the condition is related to the brain, many also experience intellectual disabilities, vision or hearing problems, speech difficulties, or seizures. As a parent, bringing up a child with cerebral palsy demands full dedication, practically, financially, and emotionally. Our sensitive and approachable cerebral palsy solicitors are committed to helping you obtain the right compensation to support your child with specialist equipment, home adaptations, therapies, and wider care needs.

To start a cerebral palsy compensation claim, or simply to find out more, please get in touch by calling 01253 766 559 or completing this form.

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Can medical negligence cause cerebral palsy?

Cerebral palsy is caused by a brain injury or malformation that occurs before, during or just after birth. In our extensive experience of these complex injuries, medical failings leading to this lifelong condition may include:

  • Significant head trauma occurring as a result of excessive use of force or inappropriate application of forceps during delivery
  • Delayed medical intervention leading to oxygen deprivation before, during, or just after birth
  • Failure to adequately monitor both mother and baby during pregnancy and birth
  • Failure to recognise abnormal test results and deliver timely medical intervention
  • Failure to monitor and treat infections in newborn babies
Find out if you have a birth injury claim – contact us now
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Birth injury claims are a complex area of law. They require a specialist law firm with in-depth expertise in obtaining detailed evidence to provide the answers that you need, and the compensation that your family deserves to help meet the complex, and costly, needs of your child. Our leading birth injuries specialists offer more than 25 years’ experience and will support you every step of the way to ensure that you get justice. If you believe that medical negligence caused your child’s cerebral palsy, our compassionate experts are here to help. We have a strong track record of securing £multi-million settlements for families in England and Wales.

One of our recently settled cases was for a seven-year-old child with cerebral palsy securing in excess of £17.9 million. Birth injuries compensation is available to provide your child with access to the specialist equipment, therapies, and the lifelong support that they need to have the best chance in life. You can hear more about how we care for our clients with Liam’s story, a young man with a passion for cooking. 

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Our determined team comprises cerebral palsy solicitors and medical experts who will review your medical records with meticulous scrutiny, will compile compelling evidence and will relentlessly pursue the investigation during the progression of your case. By combining expert legal and medical understanding, we can provide families with the help they need, even in some instances where their claim has been unsuccessful with other solicitors who may have failed to obtain the right evidence or lacked specialist knowledge and expertise.

Find out if you have a birth injury claim – contact us now
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No time limit to making a cerebral palsy claim

If mental capacity has been impaired as a result of cerebral palsy, there is no time limit to pursuing a birth injury claim. We understand that meeting your child’s complex needs are an immediate concern and that you will naturally have anxieties about their future care needs also. Our cerebral palsy solicitors operate on a no win no fee basis. We are dedicated to helping families maintain essential medical treatments, have access to specialist equipment, therapies and care support by securing interim payments before a final settlement is secured.

For updates and to read our comments, read our news and blogs or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

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What People Say About Us
"This team is small and extremely close-knit. All members of the team know all of the cases inside out and the depth of expertise in terms of medicine, law, practicalities and tactical thinking is unmatched elsewhere."
Legal 500 2023 Edition
"There is no better cerebral palsy specialist than Diane Rostron."
Legal 500 2023 Edition
"A small dedicated team that provides a personal touch for their clients and a collective professional approach from instructed experts who are respectful of one another’s opinions."
Legal 500 2023 Edition
"A small team that takes on challenging claimants’ cases, many of which have been ‘let go’ by previous solicitors. In-house medical knowledge and choice of experienced experts and counsel has generated a high success rate for their clients."
Legal 500 2023 Edition
"Diane Rostron is very professional, very thoughtful, works hard in the best interests of her clients, and has built a team with a similar ethos."
Legal 500 2023 Edition
"Attention to detail, approachable, considerate. Thorough and caring."
Legal 500 2023 Edition
"I turned to Diane at a very low point in my life but with her by my side, I found the strength and courage to fight to get my daughter the justice she deserves. Diane is so passionate about her work, she goes above and beyond putting her whole heart into what she does. She is a fighter, she has a vision and she fights her hardest to make it happen. Her dedication to her work is inspiring."

"I absolutely admire Diane’s ability to knock any obstacles out of the way and come back stronger. You’re not just a case to Diane and her team, they care and they absolutely do not give up. I have spoken to many people who work with Diane, in her office and people she works with such as her media team, every single one of them were nothing but supportive, caring and did everything they could to help."

"If I was to ever come across someone who needed this kind of help, I would without a doubt point them in Diane’s direction, she is absolutely incredible at what she does and I know that they would be in safe hands, and supported throughout."

"They all should be so proud of the difference they make and the lives that they change."
"What always strikes me is how well-informed each individual is about every single case (of which they have many) and how each of them brings a different skill to the table. Diane is vastly experienced and there is no trick that she hasn’t written the book on. She is passing this onto the rest of her team and they get stronger each year. One particular strength is the incredibly resourceful in-house medical consultant, who works on each and every case, providing extremely useful insight into the medicine. It would not have been possible for me to prepare so thoroughly for cons, inquests and trials without the benefit of his very considerable expertise; enormous credit must go to Diane for tapping into such a rich vein of knowledge."
Well Informed
"Diane Rostron’s dedicated support and personal commitment to clients and their families make her stand out from others in the field. She is the most committed and compassionate of solicitors that I have come across in dealings with in excess of 50 UK and worldwide law firms."
Support & Personal Commitment
“We would definitely recommend Diane. She is very informed and very knowledgeable. We felt very confident in her abilities. She was honest and direct, professional yet approachable and sensitive.”
We would definitely recommend DianeMr and Mrs Hoyland
“Diane Rostron is excellent. She is very professional but also very down to earth and was able to put me at ease from day one. The most important thing for me is having an open channel of communication and being kept up-to-date with progress and being told in layman's terms what the key issues are. This has always happened and I know if I contact Diane I will receive a prompt response. I have been waiting over 13 years for the opportunity to get justice for my son. I believe that my best chance of getting justice is to have Diane Rostron representing my son.”
She is very professional but also very down to earth
“Diane is very easy to communicate with. We cannot express how pleased we are with the service she provided to us. She is a true professional. We would like to say a big thank you to Diane and her team from the bottom of our hearts. We would recommend her to anyone who needs a solicitor. Diane is first-rate.”
Diane is very easy to communicate withJincy and Anthony Shaju
"Diane Rostron has a rare combination of excellent judgement, tenaciousness, and compassion for her clients."
Excellent judgement and compassionlegal 500
"The team provides an excellent and responsive service."
Responsive ServiceLegal 500
"Diane Rostron provides a consistent professional approach to all cases. She is noted to have a thorough understanding of their current situation and works tirelessly to find solutions to immediate difficulties they may be facing. Diane ensures that the clients are up to date with the progression of their case and is happy to speak to them directly if required."
Works tirelessly to find solutions to immediate difficultiesLegal 500
"I can’t thank Diane and her team enough for what they have done for our family. The service provided by Diane is second to none, it is exceptional. Diane is so knowledgeable and approachable, she explains everything in a way that is easy to understand. The relief we now feel knowing that our disabled child will be able to access all that she needs, and will be looked after for the rest of her life, is immeasurable. One of the best decisions I have ever made was to give Diane a call. I can’t recommend Diane enough."
P E
"Coping with a brain damaged child is probably the biggest challenge of any parent's life. Challenging the NHS in terms of negligence is an entirely different battle which has enormous stress attached to it. The reason for pursuing it however, is to ensure your child will never have to suffer financially for the rest of their life. Diane Rostron and her team understand this, and possess the skills to ask the most appropriate questions to the NHS in a logical sequence that has ultimately won our case. I would highly recommend Diane who succeeded where others had previously failed.”
D S
"Diane Rostron was able to put everything in a clean light, I didn’t really know after I had a previous solicitor who acted for me, they could not bring our case to a successful conclusion and it broke my heart. I was worried about how I was ever going to carry on looking after my child following his birth injury. Diane has supported and given me guidance through a very difficult time. I will always be grateful to Diane and her team for their support and help."
"I certainly got the right person for the job to bring a successful settlement for my child"A R
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What to expect through your birth injury claims process

Initial Appointment With Our Team

After you get in touch with us, we will listen to you and discuss your situation, including the healthcare advice you were given, and any evidence of negligent treatment.

We will need to apply for your medical records from various places, including the place you had treatment, other hospitals, and your GP practice.

We will then provide an honest assessment of whether we think you have a claim worth further investigation. We will explain the claims process and the fees involved.

Building Your Case

We will start collecting evidence to support your claim. This typically includes applying for any further medical records, other documents from the hospital, obtaining witness statements and independent medical experts’ reports.

Sending a Letter of Claim

Once the facts of the case are clear, we will contact the NHS Trust or healthcare provider to inform them a claim is being investigated. The Letter of Claim (LOC) will set out the details of the alleged medical negligence and the injuries caused.

The Defendant’s Response

The Defendant is required to respond to our Letter of Claim (LOC) within four months. At this stage, they will either accept full, or partial, liability and may offer a financial settlement, or deny responsibility.

Issuing Court Proceedings

If the Defendant denies responsibility, or does not offer a sufficient settlement amount, we can then issue court proceedings on your behalf to take the claim further. The Defendant will be given 28 days to respond, and the court will then set a hearing date, usually around 18 months from when proceedings are initiated.

 

It is important to note that while issuing court proceedings is an essential step, it is rare that you will need to attend a hearing as most claims that reach this stage can be resolved with a pre-trial settlement.

Court Timetable

The Court will then set a timetable for the exchange of evidence in the case. We will exchange any witness statement taken from you, and receive the witness statements (if any), of the clinicians involved in your care.

There will then be an exchange of medical expert evidence. Each party can obtain independent medical expert reports in each relevant discipline. For example, in a birth injury claim, both parties would have commissioned reports from independent obstetricians. We disclose the report we have obtained on your behalf and the Defendant has to disclose the report they have obtained.

The independent experts then have a meeting, separate to each party’s legal representatives, to narrow the issues for the Judge in the event the case goes to a trial. After this meeting, the medical experts have to produce a jointly written statement to provide to the Judge.

Settlement Negotiations

It is usual procedure to attend some form of pre-trial settlement resolution with the Defendant, either in the form of a settlement meeting, or a mediation. We have a very strong track record of negotiating pre-trial settlements and will explore every potential avenue to do so if your claim reaches this stage.

If your claim settles at this stage and involves a vulnerable party, such as a child or an adult with a brain injury, an approval hearing will be held by a High Court Judge to approve the settlement reached.

Trial By Judge

If your claim cannot be resolved outside a court hearing, we can offer experienced, and highly skilled, advocacy to secure the best possible outcome for your family.

Quantification Of Your Claim

 

Most claims are resolved in full through the above process. However, very complex claims, including birth injury claims, require an additional step to assess the quantification (value) of the claim.

For birth injury claims, additional independent medical experts will be required to assess issues such as life expectancy and care needs, and the process above will be repeated for the stage of quantification.

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The Legal 500 – The Clients Guide to Law Firms
The Legal 500 – The Clients Guide to Law Firms
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The Legal 500 – The Clients Guide to Law Firms
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