After you’ve contacted us, we’ll set up a free initial consultation to discuss your case and whether you have a legal claim. We’ll discuss what funding options are available to you to pay for your claim, including No Win No Fee agreements*.
We’ll then get in touch with those responsible for your negligent treatment at an early stage to see if they accept the blame for your injuries. If they accept responsibility, we’ll try to secure interim compensation payments which can fund private medical care and ongoing expenses, before your claim fully settles. Any interim payments will be taken out of your final compensation award.
Our experts will look into your case in detail, gathering evidence from independent medical professionals. These experts evaluate what care you should have received and can determine any future implications to your health. They’ll also advise us on the care you’ll need in the future.
We’ll always try and negotiate claims out of court, keeping the claim process as short as we can. However, if your opponent doesn’t accept responsibility or doesn’t agree with the amount of compensation we feel you need, we’ll start court proceedings.
Even when trial dates have been set, claims are still often settled before reaching court. If your claim does need to go to court, we’ll be there to help you every step of the way, talking you through what will happen so you feel as comfortable as possible.
In most clinical negligence cases, there’s a time limit of three years from when you suffered an injury because of medical errors, or the date you first became aware that your injuries were due to medical negligence. In cases involving children, you can claim at any time up until the child is 21 – the three year time limit begins on their 18th birthday.
However, in the vast majority of cerebral palsy cases there is no time limit where the client has a profound mental disability. This means that even if you didn’t seek legal advice during their childhood, you can still claim compensation on behalf of a loved one with cerebral palsy as an adult.
Many of our cases are funded with a No Win No Fee agreement. This means that there’s no financial risk* to you when making a compensation claim.
At the start of your case we’ll discuss funding options with you, advising you which we think is most suitable. If you have legal expenses insurance (LEI) or are covered by a trade union policy, these may be best for you. Legal expenses insurance is included in many household insurance policies, so it’s always worth checking whether you’re already covered.
If we think you’re best supported by a No Win No Fee agreement, we’ll explain the process clearly. This involves setting up an insurance policy that will protect you, at no cost to you. You’ll only have to pay anything when your claim is successful – your opponent will pay most of our fees.
Please visit our No Win No Fee page for more information on how it works.
In most cases, where we are able to accept instructions, we are able to offer our clients a no win no fee agreement with delegated ATE Insurance.
This insurance policy fully protects you if your claim is unsuccessful. It also means that you can claim compensation without paying a penny upfront. You only ever pay anything if your no win no fee claim is successful, and even then, your opponent will pay most of your legal costs.
Any remaining costs are deducted from your compensation settlement. We’ll advise you of this in advance, so there won’t be any surprises.
As we can offer our clients this method of funding, we aren't able to offer clients the option of legal aid.
Our clinical negligence solicitors have many years of experience in pregnancy, birth and gynaecology claims, and are rated as among the very best in the country by independent legal guides like Chambers & Partners and the Legal 500. Chambers & Partners says of our team: “They are forensic and analytical as well as campaigning and careful. All of the lawyers work tirelessly for the smaller cases as well as the bigger cases.”
