§ PUBLISHED JUDGMENT · 2023

XX v Barts Health NHS Trust

[2023] EWHC 963 (KB)·High Court (King's Bench Division)·26 April 2023

A 19-year-old with severe cerebral palsy from a brain injury at his 2004 birth settled his claim without any admission of liability. The judge approved a package of a £6.5m lump sum plus lifelong periodical payments for care, with a total capitalised value of about £17.2m.

Outcome

Settlement approved

Sum stated in judgment

£6,500,000

Claim type

Cerebral Palsy

Decided

Settlement approved by the court

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§ WHAT HAPPENED

The facts, in brief.

Defendant: Barts Health NHS Trust · this trust’s claims data

Injury: Severe hypoxic-ischaemic brain injury at birth following uterine rupture; quadriplegic athetoid cerebral palsy with dystonic spasms

Specialty: Obstetrics · England

§ WHAT THE COURT SAID

In the judgment’s own words.

“I find that this settlement is in XX's best interests. On that basis I approve the settlement under CPR 21.10.”

The money

Lump sum of £6.5 million gross plus index-linked periodical payments for care and case management; inclusive of CRU benefits (£16,780.30) and interim payments (£250,000). Capitalised value of the whole settlement on a life expectancy of 63 stated as £17,185,985 ([20]). Breach was never admitted.

§ WHY IT MATTERS

What this case shows.

Settlements for people who lack capacity must be approved by the court, and the judge weighs litigation risk against the offer. Combining a lump sum with periodical payments is often preferred because it guarantees care funding for life.

About cerebral palsy claims →

§ MORE CEREBRAL PALSY JUDGMENTS

Claim failed

LXLP v St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

[2026] EWHC 560 (KB)·2026·Liability decided at trial

A mother's waters broke at 27 weeks and a swab grew Group B Streptococcus resistant to erythromycin; the child argued penicillin should have been given before birth to prevent infection-related brain injury. The court held that following national rather than local guidance was not negligent and that antibiotics would not, on the evidence, have prevented the injury.

Following national guidance is a strong defence even where a hospital's own local guidance says otherwise. In premature-birth cases causation often fails because the injury would have happened regardless.

Claimant succeeded

CCC (by her mother and litigation friend MMM) v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

[2026] UKSC 5·2026·Appeal decision

A child left profoundly disabled by negligence at birth was refused 'lost years' damages for earnings she would have made in the years her injury cut from her life, because a 1982 Court of Appeal case barred such awards to young children. The Supreme Court (Lady Rose dissenting) overruled that rule and sent the case back for the lost-years loss to be assessed.

Claimants injured as young children whose life expectancy has been shortened can now claim for earnings in the 'lost years', on the same principles as adults. This can add substantially to catastrophic injury awards.

Claim failed

LMN (a protected party, by his mother and litigation friend PQR) v Swansea Bay University Health Board

[2025] EWHC 3402 (KB)·2025·Liability decided at trial

The claimant alleged the registrar at the Princess of Wales Hospital, Bridgend, delayed delivery after a pathological CTG in a labour complicated by pre-eclampsia and an impacted fetal head. The judge found the plan of fetal blood sampling, attempted forceps and then caesarean met the standards of the day and dismissed the claim.

A poor outcome after a difficult delivery is not enough; the claimant must show specific decisions fell below acceptable practice at the time and that earlier action would have avoided the injury. The material contribution argument does not help if no negligent cause of delay is proved.

All cerebral palsy judgments →

Contains information licensed under the Open Justice - Licence v2.0. Judgments from Find Case Law, The National Archives. Summaries are ours; amounts only where printed in the judgment.

This guide is general information about the law in England and Wales, not legal advice about your case. ClaimGavel is run by Costart Projects Ltd on behalf of Tomlin & Partners, a specialist medical negligence firm regulated by the SRA. The free assessment on this page is an AI overview to show you roughly where you stand; a solicitor confirms the position in a free, no-obligation conversation.