A twin girl who was left tragically brain damaged due to alleged failings during her hospital delivery has won the right to a substantial sum in damages after an out-of-court settlement was negotiated with the NHS.

The six-year-old was born with acute cerebral palsy after her umbilical cord became tightly wrapped around her neck during the final stages of delivery. Her twin died in the womb shortly before their mother's hospital admission to begin labour and she herself was born without a heart rate.

Doctors battled successfully to revive her, but she was left with severe disabilities affecting all four limbs. She also suffered acute liver failure in the aftermath of her birth, is visually impaired and has profound learning disabilities.

A claim was brought on the injured girl's behalf against the NHS Trust responsible for the hospital, alleging negligent mismanagement of her delivery. Her legal team argued that medical staff should have arranged for a Caesarean delivery before the mother's traumatic labour got underway, which they claimed would have resulted in both infants being born uninjured.

The Trust denied fault but agreed to settle the case on a 50 per cent liability basis.

The amount of the girl's compensation settlement has yet to be finalised. However, given the severity of her disabilities and her long life expectancy, her eventual award is likely to run well into seven figures, even after a 50 per cent reduction.