Mother of girl with rare disorder breaks down after 'small settlement' in hospital action

The woman told the court: 'It is such a small settlement and she has her whole life ahead of her. I wanted to secure her future'

Mr Justice Paul Coffey described the case as heartbreaking and advised the mother of three who had sued over the circumstances of the birth of her daughter at the Rotunda Hospital that he was going to approve the €300,000 offer put before the court. File photo. Mark Stedman/RollingNews.ie

The mother of a child with a rare chromosome disorder broke down in the High Court on Wednesday as she told how she feared for her daughter’s future when she settled a High Court action against a maternity hospital after 17 days at hearing.

Louise O’Keeffe was told by a judge that there was a litigation risk in her case and the dilemma was if the action continued to its conclusion in March and she lost, she could face a “swingeing order for costs against her”. 

Mr Justice Paul Coffey described the case as heartbreaking and advised the mother of three who had sued over the circumstances of the birth of her daughter at the Rotunda Hospital that he was going to approve the €300,000 offer put before the court. The settlement is without an admission of liability.

The judge said the offer was “something tangible” for the benefit of her 10-year-old daughter, Ella, and he approved the settlement as fair and reasonable. He said he must act in the best interests of the child.

Ella Dowling of Swords, Co Dublin, had through her mother Louise O'Keeffe sued the Rotunda Hospital, Dublin, over the circumstances of her birth on July 25, 2013.

It was claimed that the baby allegedly suffered a type of brain damage allegedly caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain. All claims were denied.

Ella, who has autism spectrum disorder, was diagnosed with the rare chromosome disorder Neurofibromatosis Microdeletion Syndrome when she was three years of age.

Mr Justice Paul Coffey was told there were significant difficulties in the case in relation to liability and in particular causation. If the case was to continue before the High Court, it could run to late March and the fear was a court could conclude that Ella’s presentation could be entirely explained by her genetic condition.

Ms O’Keeffe told the court that she was disappointed with the offer. “I worry about Ella’s future. I'm a single parent with two other children and I'm concerned about her care,” she said.

She said while she got great support from her family, she was upset at the offer.

She said:

It is such a small settlement and she has her whole life ahead of her. I wanted to secure her future.

Mr Justice Coffey saluted Ms O’Keeffe’s courage in bringing her case. The judge said “for the noblest of reasons she had brought the action on behalf of her beautiful daughter to secure her care.

“If ever there was a deserving plaintiff, it’s Ella. It is abundantly clear she requires care and support,” the judge said. Unfortunately, he said, the evidence was insufficient and he was satisfied there was a litigation risk in relation to causation.

The judge also noted that Ella’s legal team was not taking a penny of the settlement which was inclusive of costs.