cerebral palsy Archives

Cerebral palsy medical negligence cases: How Tees can help

Posted on 17 December 202128 March 2025 by Sarah O'Sullivan

Babies can be born with cerebral palsy despite the highest level of antenatal and obstetric care. Unfortunately, in some cases, severe injury results from medical negligence, where healthcare providers fail to ensure the safety of mothers and babies during pregnancy and delivery. One major cause is the failure to recognize signs of fetal distress, leading to delays in critical situations.

Cerebral palsy medical negligence cases at Tees

At Tees, our medical negligence lawyers are supporting two severely disabled children and their families, striving to ensure they receive the lifetime security they need.

Liam Baker and Kayleigh Smith were both born in 2006 at separate hospitals.
Both children have severe physical disabilities (classified as GMFCS Level 5) and brain damage.
Liam is tube-fed and fully dependent on others, while Kayleigh also has limited vision.
Both experience severe epilepsy and seizures, managed with anticonvulsant medications.

Cerebral palsy during labour: Negligence in healthy pregnancies

Hannah Baker was experiencing her first pregnancy, which was deemed unremarkable.
Tracy Smith had a history of recurrent miscarriages and a previous emergency caesarean section.
Both mothers attended regular antenatal check-ups and raised concerns about limited fetal movement. Despite reassurance from normal CTG readings, problems arose during labour.

Medical experts identified failures in monitoring and timely intervention, resulting in preventable brain damage.

The importance of fetal heart monitoring

Monitoring the baby’s heart rate is critical during pregnancy and labour. A normal fetal heart rate ranges between 110 and 160 bpm.

Bradycardia refers to a heart rate below 110 bpm.
Tachycardia refers to a heart rate above 160 bpm.

Abnormal heart rates can signal fetal distress and oxygen deprivation. In both Liam’s and Kayleigh’s cases, medical experts concluded that fetal heart monitoring was insufficient.

Monitoring failures

Continuous electronic fetal monitoring was discontinued for both mothers after 30 minutes, against best practice guidelines.
NICE guidelines recommend that, without continuous monitoring, midwives should conduct auscultations every 15 minutes for at least 60 seconds.
In Hannah’s case, auscultations were conducted at half-hourly intervals, despite her experiencing severe abdominal pain – a potential sign of placental abruption.
For Tracy, with a history of miscarriage and traumatic birth, continuous monitoring should have been prioritized. Her initial abnormal CTG trace was disregarded, and it took two hours before medical staff intervened.

Detecting cerebral palsy and brain damage after birth

After birth, both Liam and Kayleigh had low Apgar scores, indicating distress.

Kayleigh was floppy and struggling to breathe.
Liam required immediate resuscitation and was placed on a ventilator.

Both children were diagnosed with acute hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE), a form of brain damage caused by oxygen deprivation.

The court process for cerebral palsy medical negligence cases

After gathering extensive evidence from independent medical experts, our solicitors instructed a barrister to represent the families. The court process involved:

Statements from the families.
Medical evidence evaluating the timing and cause of brain damage.
Determining whether earlier intervention could have prevented the injuries.

Cerebral palsy compensation

Although neither case has concluded, liability has been resolved. The next step involves determining the compensation amount, expected to reach multi-million-pound settlements to provide lifelong care and support for Liam and Kayleigh.

Free expert medical negligence advice

At Tees, our experienced medical negligence solicitors are dedicated to supporting clients and their families.

If you have concerns about your medical care, we offer free, confidential, and no-obligation consultations. Contact us via our enquiry form or arrange for a home visit if preferred. We’re here to help you through every step of your journey.

NHS Early Notification Scheme (ENS)

Posted on 20 July 202024 March 2025 by Sarah O'Sullivan

The NHS Early Notification Scheme investigates the events surrounding the birth of a child who has suffered potentially severe brain injuries (most commonly cerebral palsy) at birth.

This process means families can find out what happened and why relatively quickly after birth. An advantage of proceeding under the ENS is that the facts are fresh in everyone’s minds and it reduces the stress for the family. Where negligence by clinical staff is established, an apology is offered to the family and financial support and advice are given to help them care for their child throughout the child’s lifetime. Read more about the NHS Resolution Early Notification Scheme.

Does the Early Notification Scheme cover all brain injuries at birth?

No. Not all cerebral palsy cases fall within the Early Notification Scheme – the Scheme is limited to those that fall within the reporting criteria and guidelines. There are three categories that the ENS can work on:

grade 3 Hypoxic Ischaemic Encephalopathy (HIE) – which is if the baby’s brain is deprived of sufficient oxygen and blood flow;
babies who were therapeutically cooled by a clinician using active cooling – this can prevent HIE by lowering the baby’s temperature to 33 degrees Celsius; and
circumstances in which the baby is comatose or has seizures or has hypotonia (decreased muscle tone), which can cause them to be ‘floppy’.

Information about the categories are available on the NHS Resolution website.

Birth injury claims that fall outside of this scheme take many more years to investigate. In introducing the Early Notification Scheme, NHS Resolution acknowledges the need for families to avoid going through a lengthy and stressful legal process.

Is cerebral palsy covered by the Early Notification Scheme (ENS)?

Cerebral palsy is a common birth injury in the UK, but it is complex to diagnose its cause. Cerebral palsy may be diagnosed as a result of one of the circumstances listed in the three ENS categories, but at least one of those must be present for the ENS to apply.

Cerebral palsy is caused by an injury to the brain which can occur: if the brain fails to develop normally in the womb; or if there is a problem during the birth, or just after the baby is born. Establishing the precise cause of cerebral palsy is complex, and you should always seek specialist legal advice if your child has suffered a brain injury around the time of his or her birth.

What if my child’s case is not eligible for the Early Notification Scheme?

If this has happened, it is because the brain injury that your child suffered at birth, wasn’t within one of the three categories that the ENS covers. However, this is not a barrier to making a medical negligence claim.

Call us so we can help you find out what happened, and if there are grounds for a medical negligence case, claim for financial compensation to support you and your child.

Get specialist, independent legal advice

NHS Resolution expects families to seek independent legal advice. We strongly advise that if you have a baby injured at birth, you seek professional specialist legal advice as soon as possible. This is a complex area of law and you will need expert support to navigate it effectively. Our lawyers at Tees can provide you a wide range of support and guidance during the process.

Working out the extent of the brain damage your child has suffered and how that might change in the future is complex. Our legal experts work alongside some of the leading healthcare and accommodation experts in the country to make sure all future eventualities are considered. Our aim is to secure a full financial compensation package to ensure your child’s future needs are met and he or she can achieve his or her full potential.

Funding your claim

Our specialist solicitors will provide an initial free assessment of your claim. We work on a no win, no fee basis or arrange legal aid (where possible), so there’s no need to worry about costs.

How does compensation help?

If your baby has sustained a brain injury, this is of course extremely upsetting. While compensation cannot directly make that better, it can help immensely with the practicalities of day-to-day life. Once funds have been secured, you can pay for the care you child will need, which is likely to include:

medical treatment and/or physical therapies
a package of care
equipment, such as a wheelchair or specialist computers for communicating
building work to adapt your house so it is suitable for your child’s needs, so that they can move around freely as they grow older.

Our lawyers work with case managers who will ensure your family has access to support in the community. We can liaise on your behalf with a range of providers who can provide care, rehabilitation and general support; these include a range of charities and public and private care facilities.

Financial support all in one

At Tees we have independent financial advisers who can advise on the management of the compensation fund to make sure there are sufficient assets to provide lifelong care and support for your child. With expert management, the funds can be managed to ensure they don’t run out.

If your child is unlikely to be able to manage their financial and legal affairs in the future, they will need a Court appointed Deputy. This is something we can help with.

We can also help you set up a Personal Injury Trust to manage the money and protect any family entitlement to means tested benefits. If you would like us to, one of our specialist lawyers can be a trustee of this trust (alongside you) so we can continue to support you as you make future decisions.

Life changing settlement for boy born with cerebral palsy due to midwife negligence

Posted on 16 March 201828 March 2025 by Sarah O'Sullivan

Tees secured a life-changing settlement for the family of a boy who suffers from cerebral palsy as a result of medical negligence during his birth. This case highlights significant failings, particularly a lack of communication and information sharing within the NHS, which was pointed out in the recent HSIB Maternity Investigation Report.

Miles’ story: The impact of medical negligence

Miles was born with severe cerebral palsy due to a lack of oxygen during his birth. He suffers from quadriparesis (muscle weakness in all four limbs) and relies on a specialised wheelchair. Additionally, he has a severe learning disability and experiences seizures related to his condition.

Tees successfully proved that Miles’ birth injury was the result of medical negligence. Key errors by the medical team included:

Improperly set up monitoring equipment
Failure to monitor Miles’ heart rate during labour
Failure to recognise signs of distress
Delayed caesarean section

These mistakes led to brain damage and neurological disabilities, resulting in oxygen deprivation (asphyxia) at birth, a condition that can cause lasting brain injuries, and in severe cases, stillbirth or death.

Tees secured a substantial settlement on behalf of Miles and his family, offering closure about what transpired during his birth. The settlement provides Miles with the resources necessary to improve his quality of life. The family has since moved into a specially adapted home that meets Miles’ needs, and he now has access to essential care services, equipment, and therapies.

The birth story: A chain of failures

Sam’s pregnancy had been routine, and she was considered to have a low-risk pregnancy by her midwives. As the due date passed, she and her partner eagerly anticipated meeting their child. Confident in the proximity of the hospital, Sam chose a home birth.

However, as labour progressed, Sam became concerned about the irregular and intense contractions. She attempted to track them but struggled. Her partner called the hospital for advice, and a community midwife arrived at their home. At this point, Sam had been in labour for several hours, and her contractions were erratic. She had not felt the baby move since the early morning. The midwife recommended they go to the hospital for an evaluation. Trusting the midwife’s guidance, Sam agreed, and they made their way to the hospital.

Upon arrival, Sam felt a glimmer of hope when she felt the baby move. However, hospital staff seemed unaware of Sam’s situation, despite the midwife having called ahead. After being shown to a maternity room, Sam and her partner were left without any support as the midwife searched for necessary equipment. The delay lasted over an hour, with Sam in increasing pain and anxiety building.

When the monitoring equipment was finally found, it was discovered that it was improperly set up. The monitor had no straps to secure it, and the midwife attempted to make do by using disposable underwear to hold it in place. The equipment continued to slip off, and Sam later learned it had been set up incorrectly. This led to inaccurate information about Miles’ condition in the womb for a critical period.

After several hours of labor with no progress, a doctor recommended an immediate caesarean section. Unfortunately, the caesarean was delayed for nearly an hour, which led to oxygen deprivation during delivery. Miles was born covered in meconium and struggled to breathe, requiring intubation and immediate transfer to a special care unit. Sam was devastated, learning that Miles had only an 80% chance of survival. Fortunately, he survived, but the traumatic birth left him with lifelong challenges.

A family’s lifelong struggle

The traumatic birth has changed the family’s life permanently. Miles will require lifelong care, as he will never be able to live independently or work. Understanding the medical negligence involved, Sam sought legal advice from AvMA (Action Against Medical Accidents) and contacted Tees to pursue a claim.

Tees took on the case and successfully demonstrated that Sam’s care during labour was substandard. We proved that with appropriate care, Miles would have had a significantly better chance and, based on the evidence, would not have suffered cerebral palsy.

If you or a loved one has been affected by cerebral palsy due to medical negligence, contact Tees to learn how we can help with cerebral palsy claims.