Concerns about cerebral palsy claims

NHS England sees £2.3 billion in damages and legal costs over the past five years

Although clinical negligence claims have risen significantly from 14,918 in 2023 to 16,540 in 2024, claims involving cerebral palsy have resulted in NHS England accumulating £2.3 billion in damages and legal costs over the past five years. NHS Resolution data demonstrates that they settled 575 claims in England involving cerebral palsy between 2019 and 2023 resulting in damage payments, claimants' legal costs and the legal expenses incurred by NHS. In the same period, there were 1,118 clinical negligence claims for cerebral palsy, which affects movement and coordination, with symptoms ranging from mild mobility problems to severe disabilities which require full-time care and support for life, affecting the wider family as well as the damaged baby. It is caused by problems involving brain development in the womb or brain damage during or shortly after birth. Analysis of the main causes of these claims revealed that they include delayed or failed treatment, failure to monitor foetal heart rates and mismanagement of the second stage of labour.