Cerebral palsy is a lifelong condition that affects movement, coordination, and development. When it is caused by preventable failures in maternity or neonatal care, a cerebral palsy claim can be brought on the child's behalf to secure the compensation needed to fund a lifetime of specialist support.

This page explains when a claim is possible, how negligence and causation are proved, what compensation looks like, and how funding works. The initial assessment at AAA Solicitors is free and commits you to nothing.

Can you make a cerebral palsy claim?

A cerebral palsy claim is possible when the CP was caused by negligent care during pregnancy, labour, or the immediate neonatal period, and when all three legal elements can be established: a duty of care existed, that duty was breached, and the breach caused the injury.

Not all cerebral palsy arises from clinical negligence. Most cases have causes that are not connected to care failures, including genetic factors, infection, and prematurity-related complications. Approximately 1 in 10 cases involves a failure in care that a competent clinician would not have made, and it is those cases that may give rise to a claim. The key questions are whether the care fell below the standard set by the Bolam test, and whether the failure caused or materially contributed to the brain injury. Both must be answered by independent expert evidence. The birth injury page on this site covers the main categories of injury that arise in maternity cases.

What causes cerebral palsy through medical negligence?

The most common route by which clinical negligence causes cerebral palsy is hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE): brain cell damage caused by insufficient oxygen reaching the brain during labour or in the neonatal period. HIE is the mechanism; cerebral palsy is often the long-term consequence.

The failures that lead to intrapartum HIE follow recognisable patterns. CTG monitoring errors are the most frequently documented: failure to start monitoring at the right time, misinterpretation of a pathological trace, or delay in acting on signs of foetal distress. Delayed emergency Caesarean section, where a decision to deliver is reached too late after signs of compromise are clear, is a second major category. Failure to manage cord prolapse promptly, where the umbilical cord descends ahead of the baby and compresses during contractions, is a third. Consent failures can also give rise to a claim: under Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board [2015] UKSC 11, a clinician who fails to warn a patient of a material risk relevant to their individual circumstances is negligent in relation to that risk materialising.

HIE, Apgar scores, and therapeutic hypothermia

Hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy occurs in approximately 2 to 9 of every 1,000 live births. The severity of HIE is assessed in the hours after birth through a combination of clinical examination, Apgar scores, and cord blood gas analysis. MRI scanning, typically carried out within the first week, provides the most detailed evidence of the extent and pattern of brain injury.

For moderate to severe HIE, therapeutic hypothermia (cooling treatment) is the standard treatment, recommended by NICE guidance. The baby's core body temperature is reduced to around 33–34 degrees Celsius for 72 hours using a cooling blanket or mattress, reducing the metabolic processes that accelerate brain cell death after an oxygen-depriving event. Cooling must begin within six hours of birth to be effective. A delay in transferring the baby to a neonatal unit capable of providing cooling, or a failure to initiate it within the treatment window, can itself constitute a discrete negligent act separate from whatever caused the original HIE.

Neonatal records showing the timing of diagnosis, the decision to cool, and any delays in transfer are important evidence in a birth asphyxia claim or HIE claim. A solicitor will request all relevant records as part of the initial instruction.

Proving breach of duty

Breach of duty in a cerebral palsy claim is assessed against the Bolam standard: did the care fall below the standard a responsible body of competent clinicians in the relevant specialty would have provided? The Bolitho qualification applies: the body of opinion relied on by the defence must withstand logical analysis. Courts are not required to accept expert evidence that fails to weigh risks and benefits appropriately.

CTG monitoring failures account for the majority of admitted cases. A thematic review by NHS Resolution covering incidents between 2012 and 2016 analysed 50 cases where legal liability was established. CTG errors were present in 32 of those 50 cases (64%). Of those, 91% involved specific CTG usage failures: traces misinterpreted, monitoring not started when it should have been, failure to act when a trace became pathological, and false reassurance applied to an uninterpretable trace. The review identified inadequate staff training and competency monitoring as the most frequent contributing factor. In 58% of admitted claims, the subsequent investigation recommended further training for the staff involved.

Establishing breach requires an independent obstetric or midwifery expert to review the CTG traces and clinical records and give an opinion on whether the care met the Bolam standard at each decision point. This is painstaking work, but it is well understood by experienced clinical negligence solicitors and the expert witnesses they instruct.

Why causation is the hardest part of a cerebral palsy claim

Causation is the hardest element in a cerebral palsy claim because CP can arise from causes entirely unrelated to intrapartum events, and the defence will always explore those alternative causes in detail.

The legal test is the "but for" standard from Barnett v Chelsea and Kensington Hospital [1969] 1 QB 428: the claimant must show that, but for the negligence, the brain injury would not have occurred or would have been materially less severe. In CP cases this means proving two things. First, that the breach caused or materially contributed to an intrapartum hypoxic event. Second, that if the breach had not occurred, the delivery would have been accomplished in time to prevent significant brain damage. Both require detailed expert evidence on the clinical picture at the precise moment when action should have been taken and what the outcome would have been with prompt intervention.

The evidence most commonly used in the causation analysis includes the full CTG trace reviewed by an independent expert, cord blood gas pH and base excess readings taken at birth, sequential Apgar scores, the MRI report and imaging, neonatal clinical notes from the first 24 to 72 hours, and any post-mortem or pathology findings in fatal cases. A claim that appears straightforward on breach can still fail if the causation expert cannot support the "but for" argument on the available evidence.

How much cerebral palsy compensation can you expect in the UK?

Cerebral palsy compensation in serious cases is among the largest awarded in the clinical negligence system, driven primarily by the cost of lifetime care rather than by general damages alone.

General damages are assessed against the Judicial College Guidelines. The 18th edition, published in April 2026, sets the bracket for very severe brain damage at £372,570 to £533,720, and for moderately severe brain damage at £289,420 to £372,570. These figures cover general damages only. They do not include any element of future care costs, lost earnings, adapted housing, specialist equipment, or therapy.

NHS Resolution data indicates that obstetric brain injury cases average £11.2 million to settle. That figure reflects the future losses that dominate the Schedule of Loss in catastrophic cases. The total NHS clinical negligence spend in 2024-25 was £3.6 billion, with obstetric claims accounting for approximately £1.3 billion of that total despite representing 11% of claims by volume.

Under the CFA Order 2013, the 25% success fee cap applies only to general damages and past financial losses. Future care costs, future lost earnings, and all other future losses are paid in full and are entirely outside the cap. In a high-value cerebral palsy case, this protection is significant.

Is legal aid available for a cerebral palsy claim?

Legal aid is available for eligible children under LASPO 2012. To qualify, the claim must involve a severe neurological injury caused by clinical negligence occurring during pregnancy, at birth, or within eight weeks of birth. The child must have been born at or after the 37th week of pregnancy. The Legal Aid Agency must be satisfied that the claim has good prospects of success, and the representing solicitor must hold LAA approval as a specialist in cerebral palsy and child brain injury.

Where legal aid applies, the financial assessment is based on the child's own means, not the parents', which means the means test rarely prevents access. Legal aid covers the cost of expert evidence and proceedings without the deductions that apply under a CFA on success.

For cases that do not meet the legal aid criteria, a CFA is the standard funding route. Under a CFA, there are no upfront costs and no fees if the claim is unsuccessful. The CFA funding guide on this site explains both routes in full.

How long do you have to make a cerebral palsy claim?

For a child's own claim, the three-year limitation period does not start until their 18th birthday under section 28 of the Limitation Act 1980, giving until age 21 to issue proceedings. A parent or litigation friend can bring the claim earlier on the child's behalf, and doing so is strongly advisable.

Acting early has concrete advantages. Medical records are more complete and easier to obtain. The clinicians whose decisions are in question have clearer recollections. Expert witnesses are available and willing to take on the case. Most importantly, in cases where liability is admitted or becomes clear from an early stage, earlier instruction allows the solicitor to apply for interim payments, providing funds for care, therapy, and adaptations without waiting years for a final settlement. In cases involving profound disability, those interim payments can be transformative.

Starting a cerebral palsy claim

If you believe your child's cerebral palsy was caused by failures in maternity or neonatal care, the first step is a specialist assessment of the facts. The causation evidence in cerebral palsy cases is complex, and the earlier an expert review of the records begins, the stronger the foundation for the claim.

AAA Solicitors handles all categories of birth injury and cerebral palsy claim in England and Wales on a no win no fee basis, with legal aid funding assessed where applicable. The initial consultation is free and commits you to nothing. You can check your claim using the online form, or call to speak with a specialist directly. The claims process guide covers every stage from first instruction to settlement.

Reading this costs you nothing and commits you to nothing. The only cost of not calling is not knowing what your child is entitled to.