My 22-year-old son has cerebral palsy and a severe intellectual disability. He relies on me for all of his needs. I worry that as I get older, I will struggle to care for him. My memories of his birth in the hospital are vivid. I believe that his birth was poorly managed and if he had been born in another hospital then his situation would be much different. I know he is 22 years old now and it might be too late to investigate a case for him but when I read your recent article, I thought you might be able to help me.
The exact cause of Cerebral Palsy is unknown. It is known that if the brain is damaged whilst it is growing then this can lead to Cerebral Palsy. However, in some situations, a lack of oxygen to the brain during labour and delivery can result in Cerebral Palsy. I note that you believe that your son’s birth was poorly managed. If it can be established that a mother’s pregnancy, labour and delivery were mismanaged by the delivery team and the
injury to the baby’s brain could have been avoided, had competent medical treatment been given then certainly questions will need to be answered by the hospital and the delivery team.
I also note that your concerns about your son’s birth management remain after all this time. Under the Statute of Limitations, one normally has two years from the date of an incident/accident to bring a compensation claim for injuries. However, a mentally disabled person has a period of two years from the date on which they cease to be under the disability to bring a legal action. Therefore, and most importantly for you, a person such as your son who is permanently mentally disabled may now investigate a potential legal case in medical
negligence. Any such legal action may be brought on his behalf by you as his mother given that your son
would not have capacity to bring legal proceedings in his own right by virtue of his intellectual disability.
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