€1.75m settlement with HSE over birth

An 18-year-old man who claims he suffered brain damage at birth and in his treatment afterwards at Sligo General Hospital has settled his High Court action for €1.75m.

Mr Justice Kevin Cross was told that as part of the settlement Thomas O’Connor is to continue to be cared for at a residential home 20 minutes from his family home. He has been in residential care since he was 12 and his mother visits him daily.

Thomas, the court heard, is spastic quadriplegic and is blind and has to be fed through a tube.

Thomas, through his mother Ann O’Connor, Ard Curley, Collooney, Co Sligo, sued the HSE over the management and care of his mother’s labour and his birth and care at Sligo General on September 6, 1996.

It was claimed there was an alleged failure on the part of the HSE to ensure that Mrs O’Connor was competently and properly managed, cared for, and supervised in hospital.

It was further claimed there was an alleged failure to inform a consultant of the abnormal CTG results in a timely fashion and there was an alleged delay in carrying out a caesarean and later an allegedly ineffective resuscitation with a malpositioned tube was carried out. The HSE denied all claims.

Counsel Des O’Neill said as part of the settlement there was a guarantee from the HSE that it will pay the costs of Thomas’ care in the residential home.

Mrs O’Connor said the family were very happy with the settlement and that her son’s future is secure.

“He is a happy contented boy. I visit him every day. Where he is staying is like a second home to him,” she told the judge.

At the opening of the case in the High Court Mr O’Neill said experts on the O’Connor side would say two alleged episodes of oxygen deprivation during his delivery and later when he was less than one hour old contributed to the brain damage.

Opening the case, he said what happened was extraordinary and inexplicable and that at 5.30am the CTG trace was discontinued when it was inappropriate to do so in circumstances where the trace was displaying the baby was in distress. The CTG, counsel said, was recommenced at 7.00am.

Between 4.30am and 8am, counsel said there was clear evidence of foetal distress. Mr O’Neill said the consutlant examined Mrs O’Connor around 8.10am and an emergency caesarean was carried out at 9am, which counsel said his side contended was four hours later than it should be.

When Thomas was born, he said he showed no signs of life and four minutes later began gasping and a tube was inserted to assist his ventilation and breathing. Counsel said the tube was inserted to the depth of 14cm and should have been put in at between 9cm and 10cm.

Counsel said that the baby was not effectively ventilated and had a heart attack and ceased to breathe on the way from the delivery theatre to the ICU at about 9.25am.

Over the next thirty minutes, counsel, said all efforts were made to revive the baby and it was not until 9.55 am that the location of the tube was discovered.