A boy from Lewisham who developed cerebral palsy as a result of preventable brain damage suffered shortly after his birth has received a multi-million settlement from a hospital.

The victim was sent home from St Helier Hospital, Sutton, on the day he was born in 2010 before results of blood tests, which showed he was at risk of developing jaundice, were known.

As concerns over his development grew, 14 months later the boy underwent brain scans which revealed he suffered kernicterus, a rare form of brain damage caused by untreated jaundice in new-born babies.

The boy, who is now aged nine, went on to develop cerebral palsy.

His mother instructed medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate his care under Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs St Helier Hospital.

The High Court today approved a lump sum settlement of £6.75 million with additional annual payments of £295,000.

The money will pay for the round the clock care the boy will require for the rest of his life, as well as specialist therapies and equipment. It will also fund an adapted property.

The boy's mother relayed concerns that her son had jaundice to hospital staff in the days following his birth, however no arrangements were made.

Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust admitted full liability, conceding that the boy should not have been sent home without the results of the blood test been known.

If he had remained in hospital the boy would not have suffered his injuries.

At a court hearing on July 9 approving the settlement, Judge Gore QC acknowledged that the injury was completely avoidable and “the settlement will not turn the clock back, but the lesson of today is that this hearing…allows the family to be able to move forward in the best way in which they are able to.”