Legal advice for families contacted by NHS Resolution/ENS

NHS Resolution, and its Early Notification Scheme (ENS), defends the NHS in claims where babies have been injured as a result of medical mistakes or negligent care.

Where NHS Resolution contacts the family after the birth of their child, we recommend that parents seek independent, legal advice from our specialist solicitors immediately.

NHS Resolution is the legal defence team for the NHS, which means that they cannot provide unbiased advice to patients who have been injured by negligent NHS treatment about the standard of care they received, their right to compensation or about the value of their claim. NHS Resolution’s purpose is to reduce the number of claims that are made against the NHS, and to reduce the amount of compensation that the NHS pays to injured patients who have been harmed as a result of negligent treatment.

As claimant-specialist medical negligence solicitors, we often disagree with NHS Resolution’s initial assessment of our client’s claim. Most of the substantial settlements that we obtain for our severely injured clients began with a denial of negligence or causation by NHS Resolution.  

Cerebral palsy and other severe birth injury claims must be carefully investigated. Parents should be aware that what they say to NHS Resolution in the early days after their child’s injury can have a significant impact at a later stage in the claim. It takes time and expertise to assess the full value of a child’s compensation, particularly as the child’s disability and needs may evolve over time. For this reason, we strongly recommend that families contact us before discussing compensation or other forms of settlement with NHS Resolution. Once a settlement offer has been accepted, it cannot be reversed. An early offer of compensation by NHS Resolution might seem generous when the child is in the early stages of their development, but in our experience, until the full impact of their future condition has been properly investigated by patient-specialist solicitors, any such settlement is unlikely to provide for the child’s lifelong needs.

Once we have secured an admission of responsibility for the child’s injury or obtained a liability judgment, we routinely secure substantial interim payments to pay for essential therapies, adapted accommodation, equipment and other immediate needs, whilst we work towards the final settlement that will best compensate the child for their lifelong disability. In our experience, the interim payments that we can secure for our client families far exceed any interim sums that are offered to families directly by NHS Resolution.

Free cerebral palsy legal advice

If you have been contacted by NHS Resolution after the birth of your child, or are considering making a claim, you can talk to our expert and friendly solicitors by telephone or face-to-face via an online meeting, confidentially, for free and with no obligation. Our medical negligence specialists will advise you on your family’s options, support you in responding to MNSI or NHS Resolution or claiming compensation, and will be able to answer any questions you may have.

We understand the life-long impact that birth injury can have on a child and their family, now and in the future. Where this results in disability, we secure maximum funding to ensure that the child has lifelong provision for care and respite, adapted accommodation, essential therapies, assistive technology and specialist equipment, to enable the child to live a fulfilled life with the best opportunity to achieve their full potential.

To book your free consultation, please email us at cerebralpalsy@boyesturner.com