Erb's Palsy Compensation Claims
For your child, and for the years ahead
When your baby’s arm does not move the way it should, the first question is always why. If the answer lies in how the delivery was handled, an Erb’s palsy compensation claim can fund the treatment, therapy and support your child may need as they grow. We act for families across the UK and we will give you a straight answer about whether you have a case.
Regulated solicitors
Years' experience
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Can I claim for Erb's palsy?
You can claim for Erb’s palsy where mistakes in managing the birth caused your child’s injury. Erb’s palsy happens when the network of nerves running from the neck into the arm, the brachial plexus, is stretched during a difficult delivery, most often when a baby’s shoulder becomes stuck behind the mother’s pelvic bone.
A difficult delivery is not negligence by itself, because shoulders can become stuck even in well-managed births. What a claim has to show is that the team handled the situation in a way a competent team would not have, for example by pulling with excessive force, or by missing clear warning signs beforehand, and that this caused the nerve damage. Our team can review your delivery records and tell you honestly whether that test is likely to be met.
How delivery mistakes cause Erb's palsy
Maternity teams train specifically for a stuck shoulder. There are recognised manoeuvres to free the baby safely, and the one thing the training warns against above all is pulling hard on the baby’s head, because that is what stretches the brachial plexus.
Many Erb’s palsy claims also start before labour does. A larger than average baby, maternal diabetes, or a previous difficult delivery all raise the risk of a stuck shoulder, and where those risks were known, families should have been told and offered choices about how the birth would be managed. When neither the planning nor the delivery met the expected standard, the injury that followed may have been preventable.
live births in the UK involve an obstetric brachial plexus injury
Many babies recover fully, while others need ongoing therapy, treatment and support. Where negligent delivery care caused or contributed to a lasting injury, compensation may help meet the cost of that care.
Failures behind Erb's palsy claims
The failures behind most Erb’s palsy compensation claims. We look for each of them in the delivery records, and often more than one applies.
Mismanaged shoulder dystocia
The recognised manoeuvres for freeing a stuck shoulder were not followed, were done in the wrong order, or help was called too late.
Excessive force on the baby's head
Pulling or twisting during delivery that stretched the brachial plexus, the injury the training exists to prevent.
Risk factors ignored
A larger baby, maternal diabetes or a previous difficult birth that should have prompted a discussion about options, including a caesarean.
Slow decisions in labour
Delays in moving to an assisted delivery or caesarean when labour was not progressing and the warning signs were there.
Forceps or ventouse errors
Instruments used with poor technique, in the wrong position, or when a caesarean was the safer option.
Late diagnosis or referral
The arm weakness was noticed late, or referral to physiotherapy or a specialist nerve team was delayed, worsening the outcome.
Your child's claim, step by step through the years
Because the injured person is your child, the law gives these claims more time and more protection than adult claims get. You do not have to bring it while your child is a baby, and any compensation is safeguarded for them.
More time does not always mean waiting is wise. Delivery records are easiest to obtain early, memories of the birth fade, and a successful claim can fund therapy at the age when it helps most. But the time pressure many parents fear simply is not there.
- 1 While your child is under 18, a parent can claim on their behalf as their litigation friend
- 2 From 18, your child can bring or continue the claim themselves
- 3 The time limit usually runs out on their 21st birthday
- 4 Any settlement is approved by a court and protected for your child, usually until they turn 18
Different rules can apply where a person lacks mental capacity. We will confirm the position for your family before anything starts.
- The injury itself and its effect on your child's arm and independence
- Surgery, physiotherapy and occupational therapy, now and later
- Equipment, adaptations and extra help at school
- The care you give as parents, and future losses if the injury lasts into adulthood
Compensation that grows with your child's needs
An Erb’s palsy award is not really about the past. It is priced around your child’s future: what treatment they may need, how the injury could affect school, sport, work and independence, and the care your family provides along the way. Two children with the same diagnosis can need very different things, so no honest solicitor will quote a figure at the outset.
The value is worked out from expert evidence about your child’s likely recovery, and the court checks any settlement to make sure it is enough. That check exists to protect your child, and we prepare every case with it in mind.
Where the answers come from
The story of what happened at the birth is almost always in the notes. We read them line by line, and we bring in the specialists who can say what they mean.
Was the birth years ago? Hospitals keep maternity records for decades, so a claim can usually still be investigated. Ask us.
No Win No Fee Erb's palsy claims
Raising a child with an arm injury already costs families enough. Investigating an Erb’s palsy compensation claim with us costs nothing to begin, and if the claim does not succeed you will not pay for our work, subject to your agreement’s terms.
If it succeeds, a success fee agreed in advance is deducted, and because this is a child’s claim, the court oversees the deductions too. Everything is explained in writing before you decide anything.
There is nothing to pay while the claim is being investigated, and nothing goes ahead without your say-so.
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know before starting your claim.
Is Erb's palsy always caused by negligence?
No. A shoulder can become stuck even in a well-managed birth, and some brachial plexus injuries happen despite good care. The question is how the situation was handled: whether the risks were spotted beforehand, whether the recognised manoeuvres were used, and whether excessive force was avoided. That is what the delivery records show, and it is exactly what we investigate.
How long do we have to make a claim for our child?
Longer than most claims. Because the injured person is a child, the usual three-year limit does not start until their 18th birthday, so the claim can generally be brought at any point up to their 21st. A parent can act for them at any age before that as their litigation friend. Starting earlier is usually still wise, because records and witness memories are freshest, and compensation can fund therapy while your child is young.
How much compensation for Erb's palsy?
It depends on how far your child recovers and what their future needs are, so no figure quoted this early would be honest. An injury that resolves in infancy and one that limits the arm for life sit at very different levels, and the award also covers therapy, equipment, help at school, your own care as parents, and lost earnings in adulthood where the injury is permanent. The court then checks any settlement is adequate before it is approved.
Who actually makes the claim, me or my child?
The claim belongs to your child, and while they are under 18 a parent usually runs it for them as their litigation friend. You make the day-to-day decisions with our advice, the court approves any settlement to make sure it serves your child, and the money is then protected for them, usually until they turn 18. It is designed so that nothing depends on your child managing a legal case.
Can Erb's palsy still be treated?
Treatment options exist at most stages, from physiotherapy in infancy to nerve or tendon surgery in some cases, and your child’s medical team is the right place for advice on what could help. What a claim adds is the means to pay for it: private therapy, second opinions, equipment and support that are hard to fund otherwise. Compensation cannot undo the injury, but it can remove the cost barrier to the best available care.
The birth was at a private hospital. Does that change anything?
Not in substance. Private maternity teams owe the same standard of care as NHS ones, and the same legal test applies. What changes is who the claim is directed at, the hospital, the individual consultant or their insurers, and that is a routing question we sort out, not something you need to work out first.
Ask us about your child's birth
Tell us what you remember and what the doctors have said since. We will tell you, plainly and for free, whether the delivery is worth investigating.
- Free, no-obligation review
- No Win No Fee available
- SRA-regulated solicitors
Check if you can make a claim
Takes less than 60 seconds
Not sure if you have a claim?
Very few parents know for certain, and you do not need to. The delivery records usually hold the answer, and having us review them costs your family nothing. Whatever they show, you will know where you stand, and if an Erb’s palsy compensation claim is possible, it can fund the therapy and support your child needs.
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