€1.7m for baby who defies the odds

A 22-month-old boy who suffered a brain injury after his birth at Cork University Maternity Hospital but has since defied all odds yesterday settled a High Court action against the HSE with an interim payout of €1.7m.

Jack Hegarty was being breastfed after his delivery when he suffered a collapse but the High Court heard the baby’s condition was not monitored as staff cared for his mother.

A midwife was required to hold faulty lighting in place as a suturing procedure was carried out on Jack’s mother, and the court also heard a faulty mechanism in the bed and a malfunctioning stirrup holding the mother’s leg meant a delay occurred in the procedure carried out on the mother.