Payout for brain-damaged boy

A nine-year-old boy left brain damaged at birth has won a substantial compensation award believed to run into millions of pounds.

Ben Nutbrown, from Wolverhampton, has battled serious disabilities to become one of the first people in the UK to learn to control a computer with his eyes.

The wheelchair-bound youngster suffers from cerebral palsy following complications during his birth at New Cross Hospital and needs round-the-clock care, the High Court in London was told.

His lawyers accepted a damages package offered without admission of liability by The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Hospitals Trust, which that runs the hospital, during the hearing yesterday.

Mr Justice Lloyd Jones heard the health problems stemmed from neurological injuries he suffered but had not stopped him from leading a full life.

The boy uses cutting-edge technology at Penn Hall Special School which allows him to control a computer with his eyes and is just one of a handful of people in the UK who use the equipment. The £15,000 "mytobii" device employs infra-red to track Ben's eyes as he moves his head along a special keyboard which appears on the screen.

The youngster also has tremendous support from his family, the court heard.

Mr Justice Lloyd Jones observed: "It is a huge misfortune that Benjamin suffered the injuries he has, but I hope this settlement will assist in helping him make the most of things. It is clear that he is a very bright young man and he has got huge potential."

The amount of Ben's compensation is not being revealed but it will have to cover the costs of care for the rest of his life. Damages totalling millions of pounds have regularly been awarded in similar cases.

His mother Rita today declined to comment on the compensation award at the family home in Grasmere Close, Tettenhall. New Cross Hospital also declined to discuss the case today.