Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust Pays £17m in Cerebral Palsy Compensation Claims

An NHS Trust in Cornwall has paid out more than £17 million in compensation for cerebral palsy claims in just three years.

Five Families Awarded Millions

Between April 2022 and March 2025, five families affected by cerebral palsy linked to alleged medical negligence at Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust received settlements totalling £17,495,023.

Each claim averaged £3,499,005. When legal costs and £2,003,988 in claimants’ fees were included, the overall cost reached £20,267,770.

Cerebral palsy, a lifelong brain condition often caused by complications during pregnancy or birth, has no cure. Its impact ranges from delayed development to physical weakness and learning disabilities. Compensation for these cases is among the highest in medical negligence because of the lifelong care often required.

National Picture: Over Half a Billion Paid Out in a Year

The situation is not unique to Cornwall. Across England, NHS Trusts paid £1,491,843,283 for cerebral palsy claims between 2022/23 and 2024/25.

In 2024/25 alone, 154 claims were settled, costing £545,865,571 in damages. That equates to an average payout of £3,544,582 per case.

NHS Resolution, which handles claims on behalf of Trusts, reported 251 new cases in 2024/25. Of those:

• 66 were linked to failed or delayed treatment

• 46 to alleged failures in responding to abnormal fetal heart rates

• 27 to failed or delayed diagnosis

Other claims highlighted failures in monitoring labour, recognising complications, and carrying out antenatal screenings.

According to NHS Resolution’s 2024/25 accounts, 10% of all new claims were obstetrics-related, but these cases represented 42% of the £3.1 billion paid in clinical negligence damages and more than half of the £4.9 billion ‘cost of harm’ across all claims.

National Shame Over Rising Costs

Reacting to the growing bill for maternity-related claims, former health secretary Jeremy Hunt said:

“It should be a matter of national shame that we now spend more on maternity litigation than the total cost of running maternity services.”

Legal Support

Medical Negligence Assist, which represents claimants nationwide, released the figures and provides free guidance through its 24/7 advice line and live chat service.