Boy settles case over alleged birth injuries for €1.14 million over five years – The Irish Times

The HSE has agreed to pay €1.14 million over five years as part of the settlement of a High Court case relating to the circumstances of the birth of a boy.

The boy, who cannot be named, is developmentally delayed, non-verbal and has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. His personal injury case, brought by his mother against the HSE, alleged he was severely deprived of air during his delivery at Limerick University Maternity Hospital in 2018 and developed hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy.

The HSE denied the allegations and maintained that its treatment of the boy and his mother was in line with accepted medical standards.

Liam Reidy, instructed by Paul Kelly of Cian O'Carroll Solicitors, for the boy, told the court there was a dispute over whether the boy would have suffered neurodevelopmental problems regardless of his birth circumstances . The court heard the boy's sibling also has autism, but their neurodevelopmental issues are not as profound.

Judge Paul Coffey approved the €1.14 million settlement, intended to cover the boy's needs for the next five years. The matter will then return to court regarding his future needs.

The judge praised the boy's “remarkable” parents for how they coped with “extraordinary” challenges.

Earlier, he had heard that the boy's mother had a body mass index bordering on obesity, gestational diabetes and other risk factors that should have indicated she needed a birth plan. She was admitted to hospital where fetal heart rate monitoring repeatedly gave abnormal results, Mr Reidy said.

The baby was born by caesarean section at around 7.20am the following day and was later transferred to the neonatal unit due to hypoglycaemia and increased lactate, the court heard.

The case alleged negligence and breach of duty by the HSE. He claimed there was a failure to deliver by elective caesarean section after the mother was admitted and a failure to perform emergency caesarean sections at later stages amid 'no' fetal heart rate results. reassuring.”

The suit also alleged deficiencies in the baby's postnatal examinations and in maintaining his blood sugar levels. He claimed the HSE allowed the boy's hypoglycemia to become profound.

The HSE rejected all claims and said that although there had been some slight decelerations in fetal heart rate around 3pm the day before the birth, the monitoring was “reassuring” overall. Later, there was a “suspicious” result, but it normalized and a decision was “reasonably” made to postpone delivery until normal room hours of 8 a.m., the office said. HSE.

He denied that the boy suffered from hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and further denied that this caused his alleged injuries and autism. He said the evidence supports “at most” the occurrence of mild perinatal stress. The HSE rejected the claim that any of his actions or omissions caused the boy's alleged injuries and autism.