Girl left with permanent scar by bandage after birth

A five-year-old girl has been left with a permanent scar on her forehead after an elasticated-type bandage was left on her head for 30 hours after her birth at Cork University Maternity Hospital, the High Court heard yesterday.

Abigail Byrne, her counsel John O’Mahony told the court, will have this “cross on her forehead for the rest of her life”. The scar, which is 10cm long and 1cm wide, Mr O’Mahony said, “mutilates Abigail’s striking natural beauty”.

Abigail Byrne’s mother, the court heard, was told the mark on her forehead would fade within a week but a public health nurse on a visit after the mother’s discharge from hospital said it looked permanent and told her to seek advice on it.