Boy brain damaged after Singleton Hospital birth gets £18m payout

The eight-year-old was born at Singleton Hospital in 2010

A boy left profoundly brain damaged by "negligent care" at a Swansea hospital has received an NHS compensation package worth more than £18m.

The eight-year-old was born at Singleton Hospital in 2010, his barrister told London's High Court.

The boy, who suffered dangerously low blood sugar levels, sustained "catastrophic injuries" in the first few days of his life, she said.

Mrs Justice Lambert described the case as "tragic".

The judge added: "He suffered a profound brain injury as a result of negligent care provide to him when he was a baby."

She said he now faced "very considerable difficulties", including developmental delay, eyesight problems, learning disabilities and epilepsy.

The boy's lawyers sued Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board, which runs the hospital, for damages.

Mrs Justice Lambert described the case as "tragic"

After admitting liability, the health board agreed on Thursday to the settlement, which the boy's barrister Elizabeth-Anne Gumbel QC said had a capitalised value of more than £18m.

He will receive a £5.1m lump sum, together with index-linked and tax-free annual payments to cover the costs of his care for life.

Those payments will start at £220,000 a year, until he is aged 19, and then rise to £292,500 a year for the rest of his life.

Suzanne Lambert, representing the health board, said: "I would like to offer an unreserved apology to the boy and his family."

Mrs Justice Lambert said she was "deeply impressed by the quality of love and care given" to the boy by his mother.

The judge recognised that "money cannot turn the clock back" but said it "can, however, make life a little easier".

"I am happy to approve the settlement which has been reached between the parties," she added.