Sodium valproate compensation claims
Our medical negligence solicitors secure life-changing compensation settlements and provision for care and special educational needs (SEN) support for children with fetal valproate spectrum disorder (FVSD) and valproate-related disability.
Trusted guidance to help your child get the support they're entitled to.
Sodium valproate is a recognised, effective treatment for epilepsy but can cause severe, permanent injury to an unborn baby if taken in pregnancy. Doctors and pharmacists have always been required to take extreme care in prescribing valproate drugs to women of childbearing age, but there is extensive evidence of women being prescribed valproate without adequate steps being taken to ensure they do not become pregnant or warnings of the risks.
If a child is physically or developmentally disabled because their mother was negligently prescribed valproate drugs before or during pregnancy, or allowed to become pregnant whilst on the drug, they may be able to claim compensation.
- Nationally recognised medical negligence specialists with decades of experience
- Access to leading medical experts and rehabilitation professionals
- Proven track record of securing life-changing compensation for families
- Dedicated support from initial enquiry through to settlement
- No upfront costs and claim through a no win no fee agreement
Starting your sodium valproate compensation claim
For more than 30 years, Boyes Turner’s medical negligence solicitors have guided injured patients and their families through the claims process to secure the compensation and specialist support that they need to manage their disability and rebuild their lives.
You can contact us for free, confidential advice from a medical negligence solicitor. We will ask you to tell us briefly about your child’s injury and your medical care, and advise you about any time limits which may apply 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 represented by NHS Resolution) on your behalf and invite them to respond, giving them an opportunity to admit liability (responsibility for the injury) 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 needs arising from the injury and disability. If NHS Resolution deny liability, we will advise you about the best way to proceed with your claim. This may involve issuing court proceedings or inviting NHS Resolution to enter into settlement negotiations or mediation.
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Sodium valproate claims FAQs
What is sodium valproate?
Sodium valproate is an anti-convulsant drug which is used to reduce fits or seizures in people with epilepsy. It has many trade names, including Epival and Epilim. Valproate is also prescribed to stabilise people who suffer from bipolar disorder.
Valproate is known to be dangerous if taken during pregnancy, as it can cause serious, long-term injury and disability to the unborn baby.
Why are doctors banned from prescribing valproate to women of childbearing age?
Babies who are exposed before birth to valproate drugs, such as Epilim and Epival, have up to a 40% of risk of injuries which range from minor physical malformations to severe disability from spina bifida, organ defects, learning disability and autism.
In 2018, doctors were banned from prescribing sodium valproate to women of childbearing age. In exceptional cases, where no other equivalent drug is effective in managing the woman’s epilepsy, valproate may be prescribed but only in compliance with strict safeguards set out in the valproate licensing regulations and NICE summary guidelines. These regulations and guidelines require hospital doctors, GPs and pharmacists to follow processes for warning the woman of the risks of taking valproate in pregnancy, regularly reviewing her medication needs, and ensuring she has mandatory contraception via a pregnancy prevention programme (PPP).
What is fetal valproate spectrum disorder (FVSD)?
Fetal valproate spectrum disorder (FVSD) is a serious condition in which a baby suffers physical and/or learning and developmental disability as a result of their mother taking sodium valproate medication during pregnancy. Children who were exposed to sodium valproate in their mother’s womb before birth can have one or more of a range of injuries which include malformations of the spine, limbs, organs or face, and difficulties with learning and intelligence, speech and communication, or autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Other names for these valproate-related physical and neurodevelopmental injuries include fetal valproate syndrome (FVS) and fetal anti-convulsant syndrome (FACS).
What types of injuries lead to valproate compensation claims?
Negligent prescription of valproate to a woman before or during pregnancy can result in severe injuries to her baby. Sodium valproate compensation claims often relate to one or more of the following avoidable injuries:
- minor malformations, (e.g. small fingers and toes);
- major malformations:
- spinal malformations (e.g. spina bifida);
- face and skull malformations, (e.g. cleft palate)
- malformed limbs;
- malformation of the organs, (e.g. heart, kidneys and sexual organs);
- learning and developmental disability:
- delayed walking and talking;
- problems with speech and language;
- memory problems;
- low intelligence for age;
- autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Children with valproate-related disabilities are sometimes described as having fetal valproate spectrum disorder (FVSD) or fetal valproate syndrome (FVS) or fetal anti-convulsant syndrome (FACS).
What type of medical mistakes lead to valproate injury claims?
A child or young adult with valproate-related disability may be entitled to make a sodium valproate compensation claim if their injuries were caused by in-utero exposure to valproate after:
- a GP or hospital doctor prescribed valproate:
- to a pregnant woman;
- to a woman of childbearing age who was not using contraception;
- without properly warning the woman of the risks of taking valproate in pregnancy;
- without checking that the woman understood the risks of valproate in pregnancy;
- without first ruling out all alternative effective treatments;
- without ensuring that the woman is regularly reviewed by a specialist;
- a pharmacist dispensed valproate:
- to a pregnant woman;
- to a woman of childbearing age who was not using contraception;
- without properly warning the woman of the risks of taking valproate in pregnancy;
- without correctly labelling the packaging in accordance with the guidelines.
What compensation can be claimed for valproate injury?
Permanent physical and/or neurological disability from valproate exposure will have severe, lifelong consequences for the child, many of which are not fully apparent to the family in the early years of the child’s life.
Our highly experienced medical negligence solicitors work with a multi-disciplinary team of experts to understand the child’s condition and assess their lifelong needs for support with care, therapies, education, specialist equipment and adapted accommodation. Our client’s claim is carefully valued to ensure that their compensation provides for these needs, whilst also compensating them for the financial impact of being left unable to learn, work or participate fully in all aspects of life.
The amount of compensation that a child can claim for their valproate injury depends on the severity of their disability and its impact on their life.
Claims may include compensation for:
- pain, suffering and disability;
- costs of care and case management;
- therapies and psychological counselling;
- specialist aids, equipment and vehicles;
- assistive technology (IT);
- prosthetics;
- home adaptations;
- medical or surgical treatment costs;
- support with special educational needs (SEN);
- loss of earnings;
- additional costs of holidays and other activities.
What was the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review (IMMDS)?
In 2018, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) called for The Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety (IMMDS) Review to investigate how the NHS responded to emerging information and complaints about valproate and two other NHS treatments. The review was led by Baroness Julia Cumberlege and was carried out independently from the government, the DHSC, the NHS, the pharmaceutical industry, and other regulatory bodies. Its report, First Do No Harm, was published in July 2020.
In relation to safety concerns about sodium valproate in pregnancy, the review found that valproate has been known to be teratogenic ever since it was licensed in the 1970s. Amongst its findings, the review criticised the healthcare system for:
- failing to carry out long-term follow-up of patients who took the drug;
- taking too long to react and respond to emerging information about the congenital malformations and neurodevelopmental effects that valproate caused to unborn babies;
- failing to take action to ensure that women were properly advised and aware of the risks.
The review found that even since the Pregnancy Prevention Programme (PPP) has been in place, there is evidence that hundreds of women on valproate are still becoming pregnant without being aware of the risks.
The review’s call for an ex gratia payment scheme to make ‘no fault’ payments to those injured by valproate was rejected by the government. Despite more recent calls by the Patient Safety Commissioner for a valproate compensation scheme, the only way to obtain compensation for valproate-related injury is by making a medical negligence claim.
What is NHS Resolution’s Valproate Claims Gateway?
We strongly recommend that families considering a valproate injury compensation claim seek independent advice from medical negligence solicitors who specialise in representing severely injured patients in claims against NHS Resolution
The NHS’s legal defence team, NHS Resolution, claims to offer families of valproate-injured children an alternative process for making a valproate injury claim via their valproate claims ‘gateway’. This is not a redress scheme and does not provide easy or unchallenged access to compensation for valproate injury. It is a direct link which enables NHS Resolution to investigate and defend the injured person’s claim, without the injured person being advised or represented by their own claimant-specialist solicitor.
By applying to NHS Resolution for compensation via this gateway, families of valproate-injured victims are risking their child’s claim by managing their child’s legal claim themselves for their child as a litigant-in-person. They are telling their story, making their case and giving their evidence to the NHS’s legal defence team without support from their own legal or independent medical experts.
Our clients who have experienced this process tell us that, in some cases, NHS Resolution are also subjecting the child and their family to genetic testing to search for any possible alternative cause for the injury, which is then used to deny their claim. To date, we are unaware of any valproate-injured claimants whose claims have been accepted and compensated via NHS Resolution’s valproate gateway. We are not alone in our concerns about the biased and misleading nature of NHS Resolution’s valproate gateway, many of which have been echoed by the Patient Safety Commissioner.
Parents and families should be aware that they may be putting their child’s claim for compensation at risk by applying directly to NHS Resolution before seeking advice from an independent, claimant-specialist solicitor.
Making a sodium valproate claim
We understand how daunting it can feel to take the first step. Our specialist medical negligence solicitors are here to guide you through every stage.
Getting in touch
Call us or complete our online enquiry form for free, confidential advice from a specialist sodium valproate negligence solicitor. We will listen to your concerns, explain your options, and advise whether we can investigate if negligent prescribing or advice caused avoidable harm.
Supporting your claim
Our solicitors will review your medical records, instruct independent experts, and investigate whether the risks of sodium valproate were properly explained and managed. Where negligence is identified, we can build a strong claim and, where appropriate, seek an interim payment to help meet immediate care and support needs.
Securing compensation
Contact us
If you would like advice regarding a serious injury or illness affecting you or a loved one, please complete the form and one of our experts will be in touch as soon as possible.
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Important information for families considering a valproate injury claim
We strongly recommend that families considering a valproate injury compensation claim seek independent advice from medical negligence solicitors who specialise in representing severely injured patients in claims against NHS Resolution.
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Our clients receive the highest standards of advice and representation and are always treated with compassion, outstanding care and understanding of the physical, emotional, psychological and financial impact that life-changing injury can have upon their lives.
- We are nationally acclaimed for our claimant medical negligence expertise and the outstanding results we achieve for our clients.
- We are ranked as leading clinical negligence experts in the Chambers Directory and Legal 500 guides to the legal profession and are accredited for our specialist expertise by the Law Society, AvMA, and the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL).
- Our integrated multidisciplinary team offers our clients a full range of specialist help with compensation, rehabilitation, SEN, deputyship, personal injury trusts and community care.
- We secure maximum compensation in claims for adults and children who have suffered catastrophic injury and severe disability, and provide practical support for their families.
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