The High Court has approved a €6.7m interim settlement to a boy who suffered severe brain damage after doctors failed to diagnose an infection.

Benjamin Gillick, who’s almost six years of age, underwent surgery in 2010 at Temple Street Children’s Hospital to remove fluid from his brain.

A shunt was inserted as part of the procedure, but he later developed an infection that went undiagnosed for three days.

He was an 11-month-old baby at the time and is now confined to a wheelchair, and totally dependent on his parents Miriam and Andrew.

The hospital has apologised for the failures that caused the injuries and the consequential trauma experienced by the Gillick family.