BIRTH INJURIES
Goodmans are the experts in Personal Injury Litigation. We have gained national recognition for excellence in the field, particularly for our work in complex, high profile cases, and a recent negotiation of the highest ever, meditated settlement of its kind in the UK. Our claim centre has been established for over 20 years. This substantial department, located its own dedicated premises, included three dedicated litigation partners supported by over 20 specialist Lawyers. Quality management is the key to our business. Every case is subject to rigorous quality and monitoring procedures including centralised case reporting. The very latest management technology ensures that straight forward cases can be fast tracked for maximum recovery with the shortest possible time scales, once more complex cases are automatically allocated at partner level. Goodmans have vast experience which covers all arrears of personal injury, on which we can offer advice.
In the Beginning
For most people the birth of a child is the most joyful experience they will ever encounter. It is also often said that birth is the most dangerous journey most of us will ever make. It is fraught with potential difficulties. Fortunately, for the majority of us that journey involves nothing more than pain and discomfort for our mothers. For some, however, what happens during birth will have far reaching consequences for the rest of their life.
Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral Palsy is defined as a disorder of movement and posture and is caused by damage to the part of the brain which controls our motor functions. It is the most common cause of motor impairment in children effecting two children out of every one thousand born. In addition to disorders of movement, children with Cerebral Palsy often have other problems caused by more wide spread damage to the brain. These include such things as learning impairment, visual impairment and squints, hearing and speech problems, behaviour problems and epilepsy.
What causes Cerebral Palsy?
There are many causes of Cerebral Palsy most of which occur before birth during pregnancy or conception. It is estimated that only 10% of children with Cerebral Palsy suffered damage to their brain at birth.
Legal Advice
If you have a child with Cerebral Palsy it may be possible to bring a claim for compensation. As a member of Goodmans Law Club you have access to Lawyers that specialise in claims for Cerebral Palsy. Telephone our
Accident Helpline on 0800 0730 386
where you can talk to a solicitor who is a specialist in these complex cases. A claim can be brought if for example, it can be shown that incompetent care during or after the labour may have caused or contributed towards the babies brain damage. The most common example of this is where the baby has been deprived of oxygen before or during the birth. Oxygen deprivation in an unborn child can be caused by a number of factors. In an age where there is careful monitoring of the babies heartbeat during labour any damaging lack of oxygen ought to be apparent to the midwives and Doctors attending the mother. With our breath of experience in these cases we aim to identify, at a very early stage, those cases which are unlikely to succeed.
Investigations
We at Goodmans understand that parents of children with Cerebral Palsy come to us for a variety of reasons. We aim to ensure that whether a claim for compensation succeeds or not, you as parents achieve a greater understanding of exactly what happened during your child’s birth and afterwards. Sometimes another cause, other than damage of birth, is discovered during our investigations. Often no cause can be pinpointed. When we first meet you we will take a detailed statement recording your recollections of the pregnancy and birth. We will also ask how your baby was in the first hours and days after the birth and also require a clear picture of your child’s problems. Should you decide after our first meeting to pursue a claim for compensation on behalf of your child then all of the mothers and child’s medical records will need to be obtained. These will be sorted and carefully considered by our team of in house nurses and midwives and they will give an initial opinion on the quality of care you received. Once all of that information is at hand, we will then consult independent expert doctors. Those doctors will be asked to consider the records and answer two crucial questions:1. Was there any incompetence in the way in which the labour, the birth or the care of the baby after the birth was handled? 2. If so, did that incompetence cause the disability this child suffers from? It is the second question which often proves to be the most problematic in these cases. The reason for this is that there are many causes of cerebral palsy other than
a lack of oxygen or injury occurring at the time of birth, for example, genetic disorders, infection in the mother and other problems in pregnancy can all cause cerebral palsy. If our medical expert can answer those two questions positively then we will advise you that court action should be started.
Moving Forward
As a member of Goodmans Law Club you will have a solicitor working on your behalf who will be a member of the Law Society’s Clinical Negligence Panel. It is crucial that the right solicitor handles your child’s case. Very few solicitors specialise in this work. These cases can be very complex and the amount of damages involved very high. Goodmans have a national reputation for its work in this field and has handled a large number of cerebral palsy cases.
Legal Costs
Where the person with Cerebral Palsy is a child under the age of 18 it should be possible to obtain Public Funding to pursue their claim. The Legal Services Commission must be satisfied of two things before gaining Public Funding. • • The claim has a greater than 50% chance of succeeding. The child in financially eligible.
It is important to note that only your child’s means and resources are taken into account in assessing financial eligibility for Public Funding. Therefore, unless your child has any savings, items of value or investments totalling £3,000 or more, or is due to receive money from a trust fund or will, qualifications should follow. If funding is granted and the case then succeeds, the vast majority of your child’s legal costs are likely to be recovered from the party at fault, in addition to any compensation awarded. However, if the claim fails and no compensation is recovered, the Legal Costs incurred will be met by the Legal Services Commission. Public Funding is not retrospective and therefore Legal Costs are only covered from the date when the Public Funding Certificate is issued. As a member of Goodmans Law Club you are entitled to an initial interview, free of charge. At this initial consultation we will advise whether or not your child’s claim is worth pursuing and if it is, we will make an application for Public Funding. At this initial meeting your solicitor will discuss Public Funding and other methods of funding available with you in more detail.
Litigation Friend
The law states that people under the age of 18 are not entitled to bring an action in their own right as they lack (Legal Capacity).
An adult will be appointed to act on behalf of the child if the action is commenced before the child’s 18th birthday. The adult is usually a relative but may be any adult willing to act and is known throughout the proceedings as the (litigation friend). Function of the (Litigation Friend) is to make decisions on the child’s behalf and generally protect the child’s interests throughout the litigation. Your solicitor will explain the role of the (Litigation Friend) to you in more detail.
Compensation
Compensation awards from Cerebral Palsy are usually very high. The level of damages will depend upon the level of disability that the child has and the extent to which aids and equipment are capable of improving the child’s or parents quality of life. A large proportion of the (Million Pound Awards we see reported in the press) are to pay for the child cost of care in the future. It is intended that compensation will provide financial security for the child’s future and will give the parents the opportunity to relinquish their role as the child’s around the clock carer, should they chose to do so. Your solicitor will need to involve a whole team of experts to assess the value of your child’s claim.
Time Limits
Normally adults have three years, from the date that they first knew or suspected they were injured as a result of a medical accident, in which to start court proceedings. The rules relating to children are different. The three year period in these cases runs from the child’s 18th birthday. This means that court proceedings can be commenced at any time from the child’s 21st birthday. In addition, if the person with Cerebral Palsy suffers an intellectual impairment it may be possible to argue that the undertaking or proceedings has been delayed because that individual does not have the mental capacity to bring proceedings. As a member of Goodmans Law Club your specialist solicitor will advise you on this point if you are in any doubt. Even though time limits for children are different it is important to contact the solicitor as soon as possible, so that memories of all those involved are fresher.
IF YOU ARE IN ANY DOUBT CONTACT THE GOODMANS LAW CLUB – ACCIDENT HELPLINE ON - 0800 0730 386 AND SEE IMMEDIATE EXPERT ADVICE
Investment of Compensation
Any award of damages, whether ordered or approved by the Court, will be paid into the Court and invested on your child’s behalf. Generally speaking, your child will not be allowed access to the damages until the age of 18, although a written application can be made to the Court at any time by the (Litigation Friend) for sums to be paid out of the appropriate expenses. The Court will consider whether the sum is reasonably required. If it is, the sum will usually be paid out to the (Litigation Friend) for the child’s benefit. Sometimes the Court will release a small sum immediately, for example, to enable necessary equipment to be purchased for your child.
Special Educational Needs
If your child’s injury interferes with his or her ability to learn at school you should ask the Local Education Authority to consider whether additional support is required, for example, in the form of specialist teaching, therapy or one to one assistance. The process of assessment is complex and parents often need guidance. Pre-school support is also available for younger children in certain circumstances. Often the Local Education Authority will readily agree to assess any special educational needs which your child may have. If they refuse to do so, or if having assessed those needs, they offer provision which you regard as insufficient, they you have the right to appeal to a tribunal. Your solicitor can explain your rights in this area and help ensure that your child’s needs are properly assessed and provided for.
Something to Remember
Our children are obviously precious and fortunately most survive the trauma of childbirth without difficulty. Where a child is born with damage to the brain it is very tempting for parents to attribute that to the care provided at birth, particularly if the experience was difficult for the mother. In fact, only a small percentage of cases can be accredited to injury at birth. An even smaller number are caused by negligence of hospital staff. In view of the difficulties inherent in these cases our aim at Goodmans is to tell you as soon as possible if your child’s claim has no prospects of success. For those cases which do progress beyond this point we aim to maximise the damages your child receives and ultimately provide financial security for the future.