Help for parents of brain-injured kids

New legal group formed by national brain injury charities launches tomorrow

News, 2 May 2005

The newly formed Child Brain Injury Legal Group is being launched tomorrow.

The Group has been put together by two national charities working in the field of brain injury: BIBIC – British Institute for Brain Injured Children and CBIT – Child Brain Injury Trust.

The charities have linked with seven specialised legal firms - including Scots firm Digby Brown - to form the Group. It will offer families with children with learning difficulties, caused by a wide range of conditions, a chance to tap into a consortium of legal advice which is not restricted to one organisation.

Pam Knight, BIBIC’s Director of Development and Communications said: “As far as we know, this is the first time this level of expertise has been made available in such a way. We are very excited by this opportunity. The legal firms have shown a tremendous commitment to the charities and are not only offering a quality service to our families, wonderful training opportunities for our staff but also actively raising money to help all the families we work with, not just those that may need their services. We are all working towards building a long and lasting relationship.”

Prior to this panel being formed, both charities had been asked on numerous occasions to recommend suitable solicitors by families desperate for guidance, but neither felt qualified to do so.

“The introduction of this highly specialised group means that we can be assured that by putting a family forward, they will be directed to the most suitable solicitor within the group by someone qualified to make that decision. They are all large legal firms and are well resourced in the areas that our families need help across the UK,” added Lisa Turan, Chief Executive of CBIT.

The legal group is already meeting quarterly with the charities, keeping them abreast of new legislation pertinent to the families that they work with. In turn the charities will keep the law firms up to speed on factors affecting families today. Families can be put forward to the legal panel via either of the charities.

In addition to this they are giving time to a fortnightly online legal chatroom in which families can raise issues relating to clinical negligence, human rights, personal injury, employment and educational issues. The chatroom can be accessed via www.bibic.org.uk.

The Child Brain Injury Legal Group comprises representatives from Alexander Harris, Irwin Mitchell, Leigh Day & Co, Kester Cunningham John, Digby Brown, Thomson Snell Passmore and Hugh James.