Cerebral palsy claims

What are the different types of cerebral palsy?

Cerebral palsy is a lifelong condition and it's important to detect it early.

There are several types of cerebral palsy which vary in symptoms and severity. They are classified according to the parts of the brain affected, and the movement issues involved.

The main types of cerebral palsy are:

Spastic Cerebral Palsy

The most common form of the condition, spastic cerebral palsy causes exaggerated reflexes (spasticity) and stiff or painful muscles. 

There are three sub-types of spastic cerebral palsy, which affect mobility to a greater or lesser degree:

• Spastic diplegia: causes muscle stiffness in the arms or legs, affecting dexterity and walking.
• Spastic hemiplegia: mainly affects one side of the body, usually causing movement issues in the arm on the side affected.
• Spastic quadriplegia: the most serious subtype. It involves motor dysfunction across the whole body and can trigger associated disorders like epilepsy, learning, eating, or sleeping difficulties.

Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy

People with dyskinetic cerebral palsy find it difficult to control their body movements and coordination. It can cause speech impairment and difficulties with walking and sitting.

Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy has three main sub-types:

• Dystonia - twisting and repetitive movements
• Athetosis - slow, writing movements that affect posture
• Chorea - unpredictable movements and a lack of coordination

Ataxic Cerebral Palsy

Ataxic cerebral palsy can cause uncoordinated and jerky movements, issues with balance and co-ordination, and shaky movements and tremors. Walking, sitting, writing, speech, swallowing, and vision are usually all affected.

Mixed Cerebral Palsy

Mixed cerebral palsy is a combination of more than one type of cerebral palsy. Combined dyskinetic and spastic cerebral palsy is the most common type of mixed disorder. The symptoms vary, but can include muscle stiffness, seizures and cognitive problems and vision problems such as ‘lazy eye' and cortical blindness.

What causes cerebral palsy?

Cerebral palsy is caused by abnormal brain development or damage during pregnancy, birth, or early infancy. The exact cause is often unclear.

If your child's cerebral palsy was avoidable, and caused by medical negligence, you may be entitled to make a compensation claim. Whilst we can't change the diagnosis, we can help you access the financial support that you and your family will inevitably need.

Problems during pregnancy

During pregnancy, certain issues may cause cerebral palsy:

• reduced blood/oxygen supply (periventricular leukomalacia (PVL)) which may have been due to inadequate foetal monitoring
• head injury in the womb
• problems with the baby's heart rate which may not have been monitored adequately
• maternal infections (rubella, chicken pox, toxoplasmosis, cytomegalovirus, or meningitis) which may not have been treated quickly enough
• a perinatal stroke, due to a bleed in the baby's brain or where the blood supply to the brain is cut off.

Problems during or soon after birth

Sometimes, birth complications can cause the brain damage that leads to cerebral palsy. Causes that may involve medical negligence include:

• oxygen deprivation during birth (asphyxiation) - this could be due to an avoidable delayed delivery 
• serious head injury, perhaps due to improper use of forceps or umbilical cord issues
• preventable or misdiagnosed infections (e.g. meningitis) which may have been avoidable with an earlier diagnosis
• newborn conditions (jaundice, liver/kidney problems) which may have been diagnosed late or not at all
• a delay in the diagnosis or treatment of serious medical conditions in the mother.
• a low blood sugar level which may have gone untreated
• neonatal stroke (within 28 days of birth).

Other risk factors for cerebral palsy

The following factors may also increase the baby's risk of developing cerebral palsy:

• Premature birth (before week 37 but especially before week 32)
• Maternal substance uses during pregnancy such as alcohol, smoking or Class A drugs.
• Low birth weight
• Multiple births

Medical negligence caused my child's cerebral palsy. What should I do?

It may be that your baby would not have developed cerebral palsy if medical professionals had acted quickly to address certain issues that have led to cerebral palsy. If you believe that medical negligence contributed to your child's condition, you may be entitled to compensation. This can help you get the support your family needs.

If this sounds like something you have experienced, call us free on for a confidential chat with one of our friendly personal injury advisors. We know how tough it can be for the parents and family of a child with cerebral palsy and we're here to help you.

How is cerebral palsy diagnosed?

Cerebral palsy symptoms are usually noticeable from an early age but aren't usually obvious immediately after birth.

Cerebral palsy symptoms include:

• Abnormal muscle tone, appearing too stiff or too floppy (hypotonia)
• Limb weakness
• Delayed developmental milestones
• muscle spasms
• uncontrolled movements
• clumsy or jerky movements

Doctors diagnosing cerebral palsy will ask you about your child's medical history and their development. They will ask if there were problems during the pregnancy, birth or shortly after the birth. They will also conduct a physical examination and imaging tests.

Brain scan imaging

Brain scan imaging can also help in diagnosing cerebral palsy. Your doctor may request a cranial ultrasound scan, MRI scan or a CT scan that uses X-rays to create a more detailed image of the brain.

Other diagnostic tests

Other advanced diagnostic tests may also be used to diagnose cerebral palsy and rule out other conditions. These include:

• an Electroencephalogram (EEG) to check brain activity and look for signs of epilepsy
• an electromyogram (EMG) to check how well the muscles and nerves are working
• blood tests to rule out other similar conditions

The Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) is also used to categorise the mobility and gross motor skills of people with cerebral palsy. 

Am I eligible to make a cerebral palsy compensation claim?

You may be anxious that making a medical negligence claim will be complex and that it will be difficult to prove fault. But don't worry, our experts can help you to establish whether your child's cerebral palsy has been caused by hospital negligence or human error.

It's important that your child has access to the support they need to allow them to have a better future and we're here to help.

The best way to find out if you have a cerebral palsy compensation claim is to call us free on now, or fill out our online form so we can call you back.

We'll ask you for information about your child's birth, and our personal injury advisors will be able to quickly tell you if your case merits further investigation by specialist cerebral palsy solicitors. Birth is a hard thing to talk about, but our trained advisors have the time to listen at your own pace, without judgement or pressure.

Why make a cerebral palsy compensation claim?

If your child has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy due to potentially unavoidable circumstances, you have legal options for securing the treatment and support that they will need.

It's important for your child's long-term well-being and quality of life, that they get appropriate support.

In cases where medical negligence may have contributed to cerebral palsy, you can pursue compensation to address ongoing care needs.

The impact of cerebral palsy extends beyond the affected child, and often has emotional, physical and financial impacts upon the whole family. A successful claim may not only cover care and support needs for the child, but broader family needs such as loss of income.

We have the experience and expertise to help you to through a cerebral palsy compensation claim. We will guide you through the claims process and help you seek the support you need for your family.

What is the cost of a cerebral palsy claim and how is it funded?

You don't need to worry about being left out-of-pocket if you make a claim for cerebral palsy due to medical negligence. Our partner cerebral palsy solicitors work to a ‘no win no fee' arrangement (a conditional fee agreement). This is the contract between you and your cerebral palsy birth injury lawyer.

This means there are no upfront costs or hidden charges.

If you win your claim, your solicitor will typically deduct the following fees:

• A ‘success fee' for winning the claim
• Any shortfall in your legal costs not paid for by the other side
• The cost of any legal protection insurance required to ensure your claim is risk free and you will never pay any upfront costs.

The other side's medical liability insurers only have to contribute towards your legal fees, so you will be asked to pay costs and expenses not paid for by them out of your compensation.

When you start your claim for cerebral palsy compensation, your solicitor will take out legal insurance protection on your behalf. This is sometimes called After the Event (ATE) insurance.

If your claim is unsuccessful, then the other party's costs will be paid out of this insurance.

If you don't receive any cerebral palsy compensation, you won't have to pay for the ATE insurance. If your claim is successful, it will be paid out of your compensation as part of the fees.

Your cerebral palsy solicitor will discuss this with you at the start of the claim, so you'll know what to expect when your claim settles. If you don't win your ‘no win no fee' claim and have adhered to the terms of your agreement, you won't have to worry about paying anything to anyone.

What are the time limits for making cerebral palsy claims for compensation?

Birth injury cerebral palsy compensation claims affect newborn babies. You can make a claim on your child's behalf any time up until their 18th birthday. The role of ‘litigation friend' can be performed by parents, family members, a guardian or other officially recognised carers.

If your child reaches 18 and has the capacity to make a claim themselves, they have until their 21^st birthday to do so. There are some exceptions to this, such as where your child is so severely affected by cerebral palsy that they can't do it themselves.

If you've got any questions about making a ‘no win no fee' compensation claim, contact us for free and impartial advice on . We'll gather information from you and let you know if we think you could make a 'no win no fee' claim for cerebral palsy compensation.

Our role isn't to rush you, it's to give you impartial and free ‘no win no fee' compensation advice so you can decide what to do next.

Why choose National Accident Helpline for cerebral palsy claims?

Financial considerations are important for families caring for a child with cerebral palsy. We recognise that you will be facing financial and emotional challenges, particularly where a birth injury was beyond your control.

Our services extend beyond simply making a compensation claim. We provide support and a shoulder to lean on to help you to secure long-term stability for your child.

Our team prides itself on its extensive experience and proven track record in handling personal injury claims, including those related to cerebral palsy.

We offer:

1. Free, confidential consultations: you're under no obligation to take a claim further
2. Expert impartial guidance on your legal options
3. Comprehensive support throughout the legal process

Our specialists are well-equipped to assess your situation and provide you with advice about next steps. We understand the complexities of cerebral palsy birth injury compensation and are committed to advocating for the rights of affected children.

If you'd like to talk to a professional advisor about what's happened to you and your family, call us today on .

About our partner cerebral palsy compensation solicitors

When you're looking for support with a personal injury claim, you might worry about the credibility of the solicitors you'll work with. With us, you're in safe hands.

We specialise in personal injury and understand the seriousness of cerebral palsy claims. We work with a national panel of personal injury solicitors who we carefully select according to their expertise. We want to give you the best chance of making a successful claim.

As well as working on a ‘no win no fee' basis, you can be confident that our cerebral palsy compensation solicitors will protect you from upfront costs and hidden charges. Our ‘no win no fee' charges guarantee means that you'll pay nothing before starting your claim.