Can you make a cerebral palsy claim?
Short answer
A claim is possible where the CP was caused by negligent care during pregnancy, labour or the immediate neonatal period, and all three legal elements — duty, breach and causation — can be established by independent expert evidence. Roughly 1 in 10 CP cases involves an avoidable care failure; the rest have non-negligent causes such as genetics, infection or prematurity-related complications.
How is cerebral palsy caused through medical negligence?
The most common route by which negligence causes CP is hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE) — brain cell damage caused by insufficient oxygen reaching the baby's brain during labour or shortly after birth. HIE is the mechanism; cerebral palsy is often the long-term consequence. The recurring patterns of failure are:
CTG monitoring failures
Misinterpretation of the cardiotocograph trace, failure to commence monitoring when risk factors developed, failure to escalate a pathological trace, or false reassurance applied to an uninterpretable recording. CTG errors feature in 64% of admitted intrapartum brain injury claims (NHS Resolution thematic review).
Delayed emergency Caesarean section
Once foetal compromise is identified, the decision-to-delivery interval matters enormously. Where a competent obstetric team would have proceeded sooner and earlier delivery would have produced a materially better neurological outcome, the delay is the breach.
Cord prolapse mismanagement
The umbilical cord descends ahead of the baby and is compressed during contractions. Failure to diagnose prolapse promptly, relieve cord compression, or proceed to emergency Caesarean within the narrow window can be the negligent act that caused the brain injury.
Failure to initiate therapeutic hypothermia
Cooling treatment for moderate-to-severe HIE must begin within six hours of birth. Failure to transfer to a unit capable of cooling, or failure to initiate it inside that window, can constitute a discrete negligent act separate from the original hypoxic event.
Consent failures under Montgomery
A clinician who fails to warn a patient of a material risk relevant to her individual circumstances — for example, the risk of intrapartum hypoxia in a high-risk pregnancy where elective Caesarean was a reasonable alternative — is negligent in relation to that risk materialising (Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board [2015] UKSC 11).
How do you prove breach of duty and causation?
Breach is assessed against the Bolam standard, qualified by Bolitho: a responsible body of competent clinicians, whose opinion withstands logical analysis. An independent obstetric or midwifery expert reviews the CTG traces and clinical records and gives an opinion on whether the care met that standard at each decision point.
Causation is harder. The Barnett "but for" test requires proof that, but for the negligence, the brain injury would not have occurred or would have been materially less severe. Expert evidence must address both the intrapartum hypoxic event and whether earlier delivery would have prevented significant brain damage. The key causation evidence is the CTG trace, cord blood gas pH and base excess, sequential Apgar scores, neonatal MRI, and the first 24–72 hours of neonatal notes.
What evidence will be needed for a cerebral palsy claim?
- The full maternity record — antenatal notes, intrapartum CTG trace and partogram.
- Neonatal resuscitation note, cord blood gases and the first 72 hours of neonatal records.
- Neonatal MRI imaging and the radiologist's report.
- Independent expert evidence from an obstetrician, midwife, neonatologist, paediatric neurologist and paediatric neuroradiologist.
- Lifetime care, accommodation, therapy and educational expert reports to value the claim.
How much compensation is awarded?
Under the Judicial College Guidelines 18th edition (April 2026), general damages for very severe brain damage are £372,570–£533,720 and for moderately severe brain damage £289,420–£372,570. Those figures cover general damages only. In serious CP cases the total award is dominated by future care, accommodation, equipment and lost-earnings schedules — pushing the typical total settlement for obstetric brain injury cases to around £11.2 million (NHS Resolution data).
Under the CFA Order 2013, the 25% success-fee cap applies only to general damages and past losses. All future losses — the bulk of any CP award — are paid in full and entirely outside the cap.
How is a cerebral palsy claim funded — legal aid or CFA?
Cerebral palsy remains one of the few categories of clinical negligence for which legal aid is still available under LASPO 2012, for children born at or after 37 weeks who sustained severe neurological injury during pregnancy, birth or the first eight weeks of life. The financial assessment uses the child's own means, so means tests rarely bite. Where legal aid does not apply, a Conditional Fee Agreement is the standard route — no upfront costs and no fees if the claim fails. The CFA funding guide explains both options in plain terms.
How long do you have to claim?
For the child's own claim, the three-year limitation period under section 28 of the Limitation Act 1980 does not start until their 18th birthday, giving until 21 to issue proceedings. Where the child lacks mental capacity into adulthood, limitation is suspended indefinitely. In practice a parent or litigation friend should bring proceedings much earlier: medical records are more complete, clinicians' recollections clearer, expert witnesses easier to instruct, and — critically — interim payments can be applied for to fund care, therapy and adaptations long before any final settlement.
You may also be interested in
Frequently asked questions
Is all cerebral palsy caused by clinical negligence?
No. Most cerebral palsy has causes unrelated to care — genetic factors, infection, and prematurity-related complications. NHS Resolution's thematic review indicates roughly 1 in 10 cases involves an avoidable failure during pregnancy, labour, or the neonatal period that a competent clinician would not have made.
What are the most common negligent failures in CP cases?
CTG monitoring failures dominate the admitted-liability cases. NHS Resolution's thematic review of 50 admitted intrapartum brain injury claims found CTG errors in 64% of them, with 91% involving misinterpretation, late starts to monitoring, or failure to act on a pathological trace. Delayed emergency Caesarean section and cord prolapse mismanagement are the other major themes.
What compensation can a child with cerebral palsy receive?
General damages under the Judicial College Guidelines 18th edition (April 2026) reach £372,570 to £533,720 for very severe brain damage. Total awards including future care, accommodation, equipment, therapy and lost earnings frequently run to several million pounds. NHS Resolution data puts the average obstetric brain injury settlement at around £11.2 million.
Is legal aid still available for cerebral palsy claims?
Yes — uniquely for severe neurological injury sustained during pregnancy, at birth, or within the first eight weeks of life. The child must have been born at or after the 37th week. The financial assessment is based on the child's own means. Where the case does not meet the criteria, a Conditional Fee Agreement is the standard funding route.
How long do we have to bring a cerebral palsy claim?
There is no fixed deadline while the child is under 18 — the three-year limitation clock under section 28 of the Limitation Act 1980 only starts on their 18th birthday. Where the child lacks mental capacity into adulthood, limitation is suspended indefinitely. A parent or litigation friend can and almost always should bring proceedings far earlier to preserve evidence and unlock interim payments.
Related guides
- Birth injury compensation — how awards are calculated
- Brain damage at birth claims (HIE)
- Erb's palsy and brachial plexus claims
- Birth injury — category overview
- How to prove medical negligence
- Time limits — including children's claims
Sources & further reading
Primary statute, case law and regulator guidance referenced in this article.
- NHS Resolution — Five years of cerebral palsy claims (thematic review) — NHS Resolution
- NICE NG229 — Fetal monitoring in labour — NICE
- NICE IPG347 — Therapeutic hypothermia for HIE — NICE
- Judicial College Guidelines, 18th edition (April 2026) — Judiciary of England and Wales
- LASPO 2012 — Schedule 1, Part 1, Para 23 (clinical negligence: severely disabled babies) — legislation.gov.uk
- Limitation Act 1980, section 28 (persons under disability) — legislation.gov.uk
- Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board [2015] UKSC 11 — Supreme Court of the United Kingdom