CP is a lovely, “cheeky” child that his family cherish dearly. But when they think about what the future might hold for him, it’s difficult for them not to get upset.

The youngster cannot stand or walk and has severely impaired eyesight due to kernicterus brain damage that was caused by jaundice that was not treated appropriately.

After CP's family sought help from the specialist medical negligence team at JMW the hospital trust responsible admitted negligence. This means that his future is secure and he will be able to access the specialist care, accommodation and equipment that he will require for the rest of his life.

Nurses had noticed CP was jaundiced early on and had placed him under a UV light the day after he was born. But despite the jaundice initially clearing up, it later returned more severely, something his concerned family mentioned to a nurse on several occasions.

The nurse said that CP was fine, but in reality he was not. While his family's concerns had been dismissed that afternoon, a call from the hospital at 2am the following morning told them that all was not well.

After arriving at the hospital, the family was advised that CP had undergone blood transfusions in the night and that 75 per cent of his blood had been replaced. They were told that this was because CP's jaundice had worsened over a short period of time – even though they had warned the nurse about his condition the previous afternoon. No tests on CP's level of bilirubin - the substance that causes jaundice and also brain damage if it is too high – had been done until 10.20pm. Precious time had been wasted before action was taken.