Seven-year-old to receive millions in compensation after suffering brain damage as a baby

A seven-year-old boy is to receive millions of pounds in compensation after he suffered brain damage just days after he was born.

Dilraj Singh, from Stretford, suffered from jaundice after he was born, and developed Kernicterus, a complication of untreated jaundice which can cause damage to the brain or central nervous system.

He later developed cerebral palsy, losing his sight and ability to speak.

His mother, Urrvashi Kothari-Tailor, has called for a national screening programme to prevent similar medical disasters.She claims that he would have been uninjured had midwives reacted to warning signs of jaundice in time.

Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust agreed to settle the case at London’s High Court on Monday, November 23.

Although millions will be needed to fund a lifetime of care for Dilraj, the terms of the settlement have been kept strictly confidential.

The trust has not admitted liability for Dilraj’s injuries, nor that midwives based at Trafford General Hospital were negligent.

The court heard how Dilraj was discharged with his mother two days after his birth in March 2008. Midwives visited the family home twice that month and 'noted that there was jaundice'.

Dilraj's mother Urrvashi has had to quit her job as a nursery nurse in order to provide full-time care for her son.

Speaking after the hearing, she claimed that Dilraj’s injuries 'could easily have been avoided'.

Despite the NHS Trust’s denial of liability, the family’s solicitor, Eddie Jones, said “the real pity of this case is that the brain damage sustained by Dilraj was entirely preventable if he had been given the right treatment at the right time.”

Ms Kothari-Tailor’s lawyers will now work with the trust to finalise the terms of the settlement.