THE High Court has approved an interim settlement of €1.5 million in the case of a now 15-year-old girl who was brain injured at birth.
The payment brings to €4.5m the total paid out so far in the case of Letterkenny teenager, Sarah McFeely.
It was the fourth interim payment since she first settled her case 11 years ago over her birth at Letterkenny General Hospital.
Through her mother, Bronagh Colhoun, Cill Gréine, Lismonaghan, Letterkenny, Sarah sued the HSE over alleged negligent treatment of the mother’s pregnancy and her birth in September 2008.
When the case first came to court in 2013, her lawyers said the girl’s mother had been given excessive amounts of a drug used to stimulate labour which caused brain damage to the baby.
In the action, as reported in the Irish Independent, it was claimed Ms Colhoun went into labour on September 27, 2008 and went to Letterkenny General Hospital.
The drug syntocinon, used to induce labour, was commenced at 2.30pm.
At 4pm, the CTG showed a marked change in character and it was claimed there was a hyper stimulation and a doctor advised discontinuance of syntocinon, it was claimed.
An epidural was requested and given at around 6pm and the syntocinon recommenced.
It was claimed the epidural was not fully effective and the mother continued to be distressed.
It was further claimed, despite this, the rate of syntocinon was further increased.
A vacuum delivery started at nearly 10 minutes to midnight but Sarah was not born until 39 minutes after, it was claimed.
Different vacuum cups had to be reapplied.
It was claimed there was excessive administration of syntocinon to the mother and a failure to recognise the hyper-stimulation.
There was a failure to deliver the baby at the earliest possible opportunity and by caesarean section, she claimed.
The court, RTé News reports, was told Sarah has cerebral palsy and is severely disable as a result.
The legal action was launched when Ms Coulhoun tried to get an explanation for her daughter’s condition but was refused a meeting with medical staff, the court was told.
The case will return to court again in four years.
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