It’s a tough one to call, but does claiming for compensation for a birth defect or a negligence claim, make our suffering any easier?

I say that because of something my GP said to me a couple of months ago, when I was trying to find out about cerebral palsy. She assumed that I was looking to claim for compensation, before I’d even had the chance to explain why I was seeing her.

As I didn’t find out I had cerebral palsy until the age 46, I was never in a position to think about compensation. I imagine that it would have made my suffering that little bit easier, because it would have taken the onus off my parents.

Disability and the financial burden

When any baby is born with a disability, it can be a financial burden, but however large or small, mum's particularly will take the blame as their own. Mum didn’t know how to deal with me or my issues fully. There was no understanding for me of my condition, but I believe she couldn’t handle the guilt and for her to see me struggle was harder.

Compensation and disability recognition

Compensation would have recognised the hospital as being to blame. It may have even made my relationship better, because my parents would have had more money at the time for us to help me.

This isn’t something my mum and dad ever discussed with me, although before mum died, she opened up and told me ‘my birth was particularly difficult,’ which opened the floodgates for me to find out about cerebral palsy.

Compensation doesn't change a disability

Compensation could never mend what I had to go through. What I look for is the difference I can make that helps others too, whilst helping myself to cope with what I have to deal with.