£4m-plus settlement agreed for teenager who suffered brain injury after birth in Birmingham

Hospital bosses have agreed to pay more than £4 million damages to a 16-year-old boy who suffered a brain injury shortly after birth, a High Court judge has been told.

Mrs Justice Hill approved a settlement at a High Court hearing in London on Thursday after lawyers representing the boy made medical negligence allegations.

The judge said the teenager, who has cerebral palsy, could not be identified in media reports of the case.

Lawyers had initially taken legal action against the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, which was based in Birmingham.

The judge heard how that trust was now part of the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust.

Barrister John de Bono KC, who represented the teenager, outlined detail of the settlement, and explained how the boy had suffered a brain injury shortly after birth.

He said the trust had agreed to pay a £4.75 million lump sum plus on-going “periodical payments”.

Mrs Justice Hill said, in a ruling, that liability had been admitted.

ITV News Central has contacted the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust for a comment.