Bringing Claims For Damage At Birth Resulting In Cerebral Palsy

Recent successes in claims brought by adults for damage during the process of birth have made me aware that many families are unaware that claims can still be brought many years after the damage occurred.

For example, on 14 December 2010 we secured an award of approximately £5.7 million for Ian Murphy who was 33 at the time of settlement.

Ian suffers from moderately severe spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy with impaired mobility and coordination. He is wheelchair dependant and needs help with all activities of daily living, communication and socialisation. His delightful personality shines through his disabilities but his parents began to find it difficult to cope with their son's behavioural problems combined with severe learning difficulties, impaired vision and epileptic seizures.

After careful consideration, his family were determined to look for suitable accommodation for Ian. This was to ensure that he could be cared for when they could no longer perform the task, since Ian is in good general health and he is likely to outlive his parents.

Finding suitable accommodation and care in the local area proved to be problematical and so Mr and Mrs Murphy sought my help.

Due to the efforts of his parents, a place was found for Ian where he is extremely happy and his family are still able to be involved in his care. His parents remained concerned that their son is likely to live until he is over 70 and there were worries about what would happen to Ian when they are no longer around.

I questioned Mrs Murphy about the circumstances of Ian's birth almost 30 years earlier, and it became clear to me that there may have been negligent delay in his delivery. Ian's pattern of disability was consistent with such a delay resulting in his brain being deprived of an adequate oxygen supply and his brain being permanently damaged.

I explained that because Ian had learning difficulties, there was no time limit for him to bring a claim and I was able to reassure Mr and Mrs Murphy that they would not incur any legal fees because Ian's limited income of state benefits meant that he would be eligible for Legal Aid regardless of parental income.

Because I am a specialist solicitor who deals only with cerebral palsy claims and a member of both the ALMA and The Law Society's specialist Clinical Negligence Panels, I was confident that I would be able to secure funding in order to investigate a claim on Ian's behalf.

Funding was secured and investigations showed that Ian had a claim with a reasonable prospect of success. We were able to negotiate a settlement on Ian's behalf on the basis of an admission of 90% liability by the Oxford Radcliffe NHS Trust.

The settlement consists of a lump sum of £1,965,000 to cater for his immediate needs and annual payments of £122,500 rising to £133,000 in 2015.

The annual payments are linked to the appropriate earnings index and will continue for the whole of Ian's life.

The Trust will pay the reasonable legal costs and any Legal Aid payments will be reimbursed.

The money will be paid to the Court of Protection to ensure that it is used for Ian's benefit and I have been appointed as Deputy by the Court to administer the funds and account to the Court for any expenditure.

Mr and Mrs Murphy are delighted with the outcome which ensures that Ian will be in a caring and suitably equipped environment for the rest of his life.

Like most cases, this settled by negotiation without going to trial. In the last 22 years, only two of the many cerebral palsy cases where I have secured compensation have proceeded to trial.

Many parents of adults with cerebral palsy like Mr and Mrs Murphy do not realise that they can still bring a claim many years after their child was born.

Many others have been advised by inexperienced solicitors that they do not have a claim. About a third of my cases have been rejected by a previous solicitor.

Legal Aid is still available to bring such claims if it is felt that they stand a reasonable prospect of success. If I can help or advise parents of adults or children with cerebral palsy, do not hesitate to contact me on 01865 254 293 or sue.jarvis@bllaw.co.uk for a confidential discussion.

This article was written by Sue Jarvis, a clinical negligence solicitor from Blake Lapthorn.