The parents of a six-year-old girl who is paralysed and brain-damaged as a result of the sub-standard quality of care delivered during her birth have received €4.5m in a settlement with St Luke's General Hospital in Kilkenny. The court heard that, for the first two years of her life, Kerry Brett, from Fethard in Co Tipperary, suffered constant muscle spasm and was in agony. A care professional even described her life as a "misery". She was born in October 2003 and lawyers for her family said the standard of care fell within the category of incompetence. Her brain was starved of oxygen for 107 minutes the court heard. The hospital admitted liability in the case and offered the family an unreserved apology.