A seven-year-old boy left severely disabled after being starved of oxygen during his birth at Watford General Hospital, was today guaranteed multi-million pound damages payout by a judge at London's High Court.

Mattia Dessi was born at Watford General Hospital on September 7 2004, with severe spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy, having suffered from lack of oxygen to his brain during his delivery.

Mattia, of Palmer Avenue, Bushey, is confined to a wheelchair, can only communicate using his eyes and requires round the clock care.

Through his mother, Vivian Dessi, Mattia sued the managers of the hospital, West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust, sought damages, claiming that negligence by hospital staff in delaying his delivery led to his birth injuries.

The court heard today that the Trust had conceded that they were in breach of their duty of care to Mattia, but still disputed whether the actions of their staff had actually caused his cerebral palsy.

Today however, before Mr Justice King, lawyers for the Trust settled the issue by agreeing to pay Mattia 85 per ceent of a full valuation of her claim.

The amount of damages Mattia will receive has yet to be calculated but is certain to run to many millions of pounds, even after a 15 per cent deduction.

Approving the settlement, Mr Justice King said: "I have no hesitation in saying that this is a reasonable settlement. The big issue here is causation."

The level of the payout will now be fixed at a further High Court trial, unless the matter can be agreed between the parties beforehand.

Sue Jarvis, Mattia's solicitor, said outside court that Mattia's parents "have cared for him lovingly throughout his life”. "He requires 24-hour care and an interim payment will allow the family to move to more appropriate accommodation and to begin to purchase the professional care, aids and equipment that M will need for the rest of his life."