Brain damaged boy's parents receive £5.8m payout

The boy was born at St Michael's Hospital in Bristol

A hospital trust has agreed to pay millions of pounds in compensation to the family of a six-year-old boy who suffered brain damage at birth.

The child was starved of oxygen when his shoulder became stuck during delivery.

He was the parents' second child and their first had the same problem - shoulder dystocia - but was unharmed.

However, the mother's hospital notes were lost and she was not warned of the risk of it occurring again.

University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust agreed to a £5.8m lump sum plus regular payments throughout the boy's life.

At the High Court, barrister Edward Bishop QC told Mrs Justice Lambert the total compensation package could end up exceeding £20m.

'Living nightmare'

The boy, who cannot be identified, has cerebral palsy, is unable to talk, can barely walk, is doubly incontinent and requires 24-hour care.

His parents told the BBC that the last six years had been a "living nightmare".

They said they were pleased with the trust's apology and that the money would help with their son's complicated needs, but all they wanted was to have a "healthy, happy little boy".

The trust said in a statement: "Once again we would like to apologise for failings in the care we provided and for the distress this has caused.

"We have taken steps to ensure we have learned from the mistakes that were made, and we hope that this settlement will secure the child's future needs."