Ipswich Hospital in £6.8m payout over brain damage at birth

A boy left with severe brain damage after a hospital's errors has been awarded a multimillion-pound payout.

Doctors failed to diagnose an infection before his delivery at Ipswich Hospital in 2009 and his breathing tube was later dislodged, the High Court heard.

The hospital trust accepted liability and the NHS has agreed to pay a £6.8m lump sum with additional annual payments to cover the cost of his care.

The trust offered its "unreserved apologies".

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, picked up a group B streptococcus infection from his mother before his birth, which doctors did not diagnose.

The court heard he was particularly vulnerable and when his breathing tube dislodged after his birth he was left with brain damage.

He has severe physical disabilities and needs constant supervision and care, but was described in court as a bright boy whose education was going well.

Ipswich Hospitals NHS Trust admitted liability for his injuries in 2017 after his family's lawyers launched a medical negligence claim.

The trust, which merged with another to become the East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust in 2018, apologised "for the failings which occurred which have had such an impact on the life of this child and their family".

"The trust's aim is to provide the best possible care to all its patients and it is very sorry that it failed to achieve this on this occasion," it added in a statement.

Approving the settlement as a "fair compromise", Mrs Justice Elisabeth Laing praised the "amazing support" given to the boy by his parents, but acknowledged no amount could compensate him for what he had lost.

The payments will start at £100,000 a year, rise to £147,500 when he reaches 19 and continue for the rest of his life.