A 10-year-old girl who sued over the circumstances of her birth at Cork University Maternity Hospital has settled a High Court action with a €3.25 million interim payout.
Olivia McGrath, from Gurranabraher, Co Cork , cannot speak, has impaired vision, has to use a wheelchair and requires full-time care.
Her parents, Christine and Ruairí McGrath, were in court as the settlement of the action against the Health Service Executive (HSE) was approved by a judge.
“It has taken five long years fighting tooth and nail all the way, but we got it over the line,” Ruairí McGrath said outside court.
“This is going to make all the difference for Olivia. The world is now her oyster rather than us just surviving as we have been for the last 10 years. The sky is the limit now for Olivia and she will get all the therapies she needs. It is a fantastic day for Olivia and for our family,” he said.
John O’Mahony, counsel for the family with Doireann O’Mahony, told the court the issues in Olivia’s action were complex. If the case had gone to hearing it was expected to last six weeks.
The interim settlement, which is for the next 10 years, is without an admission of liability and represents 55 per cent of the full value of the claim. Future care needs will be decided in 10 years’ time.
O’Mahony told the court the action had been settled after mediation.
He said it was their case that a Caesarean section should have been carried out earlier on May 20th, 2016, and the CTG trace, which monitors the baby’s heart rate, was allegedly abnormal and this should have been a red-flag indicator. The CTG was observed, he said, but it was their case it was allegedly not acted upon.
Counsel said the baby was small and there was a reduction in the amniotic fluid which meant the management of the labour should be elevated.
Counsel said another issue arose in the case, the timing of a stroke suffered by the child. The McGrath side contended it happened during labour and claimed if a Caesarean had been carried out “Olivia would have been protected”.
An expert on behalf of the HSE said a stroke had probably occurred maybe weeks before labour.
Ruairí McGrath told the court the family was satisfied with the settlement “in the sense that at last we can provide for Olivia”.
“We can give her the life she deserves,” he told Judge Paul Coffey.
Olivia had, through her father, sued the HSE over the circumstances of her birth on May 20th, 2016.
In the proceedings it was claimed that labour had allegedly been allowed to continue for many hours until delivery was eventually achieved.
The HSE denied all the claims and contended the antenatal care provided to the mother was appropriate and consistent with an acceptable standard of care for an Irish maternity hospital at the time.
Approving the settlement, the judge said it was a case fraught with great complexity, and he was satisfied the settlement was fair and reasonable.
Read the full article at The Irish Times →
Ireland