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Kernicterus is a rare but serious complication of untreated jaundice in newborn babies, which causes permanent injury to the baby’s brain. This dangerous condition is preventable with correct neonatal care of the newborn baby. Kernicterus brain injury claims usually relate to cerebral palsy and severe disability caused by delays in referral, diagnosis, and treatment of newborn babies with jaundice by midwives, health visitors, hospital doctors or GPs.
For over 30 years, Boyes Turner’s neonatal brain injury solicitors have secured outstanding compensation settlements for children with kernicterus brain injury to meet their needs for care, adapted accommodation, therapies and specialist support throughout their lives. If your child has suffered kernicterus brain injury, you can contact us for free, confidential advice from a neonatal brain injury solicitor. Your child may be entitled to substantial compensation.
Speak to our medical negligence solicitors
If you think that your child may have suffered a kernicterus brain injury, or if you have been contacted by MNSI or NHS Resolution, we recommend that you contact our medical negligence team as soon as possible for free, confidential advice. We support parents through the difficult conversations, investigations, and decisions that follow a baby’s brain injury or diagnosis and help you protect your child’s entitlement to compensation.
We will ask you to tell us briefly about your child’s neonatal care and injury, advise you about your time limits and whether we can help you investigate your claim. Once our investigations confirm you have grounds for a claim, we will notify the defendant healthcare provider (usually NHS Resolution) on your behalf and invite them to respond, giving them an opportunity to admit liability (responsibility for your injuries), before court proceedings are issued.
If liability is admitted, we will obtain a judgment from the court and apply for a substantial interim payment to meet your child’s immediate needs arising from their disability. Working with our Court of Protection deputyship team, we can then begin to meet the child’s urgent needs, such as for care, therapies, suitable accommodation and specialist equipment. Our special educational needs (SEN) team can help with school placements and educational support.
If NHS Resolution deny liability, we will advise you about the best way to proceed your claim. In neonatal brain injury claims, we often need to issue court proceedings before NHS Resolution will admit liability or enter into settlement negotiations or mediation. Final settlements are always structured to guarantee the best provision for the child’s individual needs, now and throughout their life.
Partner, Medical negligence
Our client was visited by community midwives, who failed to recognise that he had jaundice and take appropriate action. Without treatment, his jaundice developed into kernicterus, which caused permanent brain damage. Our client has four-limb cerebral palsy with severely impaired communication and vision, and profound deafness. He will always be totally dependent on others and needs full-time nursing care.
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I have nothing but great things to say about Boyes Turner and the way my case was handled. I had the pleasure of having Julie Marsh assigned to my claim and she has been the utmost professional, kept me informed, explained everything I didn’t understand. She has given me support, guidance, understanding and most of all compassion all the way through. A great asset to your company, and a great outcome. Well done Boyes Turner, would not hesitate to use you again.
We had an outstanding experience with Boyes Turner Solicitors. From start to finish, their professionalism and expertise were evident, making the entire process smooth and stress-free. Their knowledge in the field is excellent, and they communicated with us clearly and promptly at every stage. We were especially impressed by how approachable and friendly the entire team was – they made us feel genuinely cared for throughout. While we're relieved that everything is now resolved, there’s a part of us that will miss the regular contact with such a fantastic group of people. We couldn’t recommend them more highly!
Julie marsh and her team have made a very distressing and stressful process much less pain less she has explained every part of the process in way that I can understand and not just in legal speak I can’t rate all of them highly enough
My daughter was born with a severe brain injury and was severely disabled as a result, I approached Boyes turner when she a few months old because I wanted answers. I remember the day well sitting in the carpark in total shock and dismay having been to a serious incident meeting within the hospital, the tone of that meeting had been to deny there had been any wrongdoing on the hospitals part and they tried to blame me. I mustered the courage to contact BT and it was the best decision I have ever made. From start to finish they have been professional, kind, explained the process through every step of the way, empathetic, responsive, they not only got me the answers I needed by instructing top of their class experts, they also won my daughter an award that now means she can be looked after, with the correct input and in the right accommodation for the rest of her life. Nothing can take the pain away of what happened to my little girl but with Boyes Turner's help we are now able to give her the life she deserves and I will be forever grateful
Julie marsh and her team have been so professional during this distressing time for me and my family. From day one Julie has been so patient and understanding of my worries and questions and made this very stressful process much less so. The experts Julie instructed have explained symptoms and what to do about them which has helped me and my family massively deal with this disability. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend boyes turner they have been superb.
Kernicterus is a dangerous, but preventable, complication of neonatal jaundice which causes damage to the newborn baby’s brain. Bilirubin is a yellow substance that is produced naturally in the body by red blood cells breaking down. Bilirubin is usually processed by the liver and then passed out of the body as waste. Some newborn babies cannot remove bilirubin from their blood effectively, as their liver is not fully developed.
Kernicterus occurs when the amount of bilirubin in a newborn baby’s blood is not properly monitored or controlled by timely treatment. Excess bilirubin in the blood or ‘hyperbilirubinaemia’ (or hyperbilirubinemia) requires careful monitoring and, where necessary, phototherapy, or exchange transfusion treatment. If allowed to build up to dangerous levels, bilirubin that has not been processed by the liver can travel through the blood-brain barrier, where it causes irreversible damage to the brain and spinal cord. This type of injury to the brain is sometimes called bilirubin encephalopathy. The pattern of damage and its characteristic yellow staining of the brain is known as kernicterus.
All newborn babies have an increased risk of developing neonatal jaundice, but in most cases their jaundice will resolve naturally or with careful monitoring and phototherapy treatment.
The risk of a baby developing kernicterus increases where:
Kernicterus is usually preventable with correct monitoring and treatment. Most kernicterus brain injury claims arise from inadequate monitoring of babies with excess bilirubin in their blood and delayed treatment of babies whose bilirubin levels are rising rapidly or above the treatment threshold.
Kernicterus is preventable with correct maternity and neonatal care, which includes:
Jaundice is one of the most common conditions that affects newborn babies. Jaundice affects 80% of premature babies and 60% of full-term babies in their first week of life. Mild neonatal jaundice is often harmless and usually lasts up to two weeks, but may last longer in breast-fed babies.
Jaundice is caused by high levels of bilirubin in the baby’s blood. Bilirubin is a naturally occurring yellow pigment that is formed during the body’s normal process of breaking down old red blood cells. Bilirubin is processed by the liver, then moves to the bile duct and gallbladder (where it is stored) then into the small intestine as bile, where it helps digest fats before being passed out of the body as waste.
A newborn baby develops jaundice when their developing liver cannot process all the bilirubin, leaving an abnormally high amount of bilirubin (hyperbilirubinaemia) in their blood. The excess bilirubin causes the yellow discolouration which is seen in babies with jaundice.
Common signs of jaundice include:
Even though jaundice is common in newborn babies and is usually transient and harmless, babies with jaundice must be diagnosed, and their bilirubin levels must be carefully monitored and properly treated to prevent the development of kernicterus.
Neonatal jaundice is often harmless but must be recognised, monitored and, where necessary, treated to avoid permanent injury to the baby’s brain from kernicterus.
Jaundice can also be an indication of other serious health conditions, such as:
Kernicterus is caused by untreated or delayed treatment of hyperbilirubinaemia, allowing excess, unprocessed bilirubin in the blood to damage the baby’s brain. Early signs of brain injury from kernicterus can include:
Kernicterus is a dangerous but preventable complication of untreated jaundice, which should be avoided with correct neonatal care.
Neonatal brain injury from kernicterus can cause permanent, severe disability from:
For more information about cerebral palsy claims and compensation, visit our specialist cerebral palsy website or contact us for free, confidential advice from a solicitor.
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