Apology and £1.3m payout from NHS for boy left disabled at birth after Calderdale hospital blunder

An 11-year-old boy, left tragically disabled at birth, has won a £1.3m payout.

The boy was left disabled after he was starved of oxygen in the maternity unit at Calderdale Royal Hospital, and has won the compensation after a legal battle.

And he and his family have also received a public apology from the NHS.

The youngster was stricken by hypoxia during the final stages of his mother’s labour and his legal team argued he would have escaped injury had he been delivered as an emergency case just 20 minutes earlier.

The schoolboy’s case reached court yesterday as his QC, James Watson, asked Judge Patrick Moloney QC to approve a £1.3 million settlement – to be paid out by the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust.

London’s High Court heard the boy, who cannot be named due to his acute vulnerability, suffers from a “moderate but perceptible degree of disability.”

The trust’s barrister, Richard Smith, was also in court to issue an apology to the boy and his family for the hospital’s “admitted negligence.”

The 11-year-old’s intellect is largely intact, although he suffers from some learning disabilities. He is most seriously affected by cerebral palsy restricting movement on the left side of his body, playing havoc with his sense of balance and his agility.

Mr Watson said he hoped the boy and his family would prosper now that the “stress of litigation” is behind them.

Approving the settlement and wishing the boy and his family well for the future, the judge paid tribute to the parents for all the selfless care they had given him.

“I have great sympathy for the family,” he told the court.

The money will be held on trust for the boy until he reaches the age of 18 and will then be used to give him all the care and assistance he will need for the rest of his life.

Dr Barbara Crosse, medical director of the Calderdale and Huddersfield Trust, said: “On behalf of the trust I would like to offer my sincere apologies to the family.

“We are pleased that this has been settled with them and would take this opportunity to wish them well for the future.”