Court landmark for cerebral palsy victim

The Court of Appeal said the case of 35-year-old Julius Whiston, who claims his condition was caused by oxygen deprivation at his birth at London's Queen Charlotte's Hospital in September 1974, should proceed.

London Strategic Health Authority, which denies negligence, had argued that the action, launched in October 2006, could not go ahead as it was brought outside the legal time limit.

The authority has claimed that Mr Whiston's awareness that his condition was caused by lack of oxygen during delivery was acquired well before his 18th birthday. But, Londoner Mr Whiston, who now has to use a wheelchair and communicate through a computer, said he did not acquire the relevant knowledge until November 2005 when he was 31.