Parents agree £9.5 million damages package with hosptial after son’s birth injuries

The parents of a 10-year-old boy who suffers from a form of cerebral palsy as a result of being starved of oxygen during birth have agreed a damages package approaching £10 million with hospital bosses, a High Court judge has been told.

Mr Justice Lavender approved a settlement between the couple and bosses at Southend University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust at a High Court hearing in London on Monday.

Liability had been “settled at” 70%, he was told.

The judge said the boy had been left with profound injuries.

He made an order which bars journalists from identifying the youngster in media reports.

Barrister Simon Browne QC, who represented the boy’s parents, said the package totalled around £9.5 million and would be made up of a lump sum plus regular payments.

He said the money would cover future care costs and compensate the boy’s parents for care already provided.

Barrister Richard Booth QC, who represented the trust, apologised for “any identified failings” in care provided on the day the boy was born.

He also paid tribute to the boy’s parents for the “astonishing and unstinting” care they had provided.

Mr Booth said no amount of money could “turn back the clock”.

But he said trust bosses hoped that the package would “go some way towards alleviating the enormous challenges yet to be faced”.

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