THE PARENTS of a girl born dead at Sligo General Hospital as a result of alleged delay in delivering her have secured €100,000 for nervous shock in settlement of their High Court action.
Because Emma Gilmartin was dead at birth on July 2nd, 2005, it was not open to her parents Karen and Paul to bring a claim for damages for mental distress under the Civil Liability Act and the case was a straightfoward claim by both parents for personal injuries due to nervous shock arising from Emma's death, Dr John O'Mahony SC told Mr Justice John Quirke yesterday. The judge said he wanted to express his deep sympathy to the parents not just for their terrible loss but also because nothing was recoverable for mental distress under the Civil Liability Act. He believed nothing could console the parents for what happened to Emma.
The action was brought against the Health Service Executive (HSE) by Karen and Paul Gilmartin, who have since separated and live respectively in Carraroe and Drumcliffe, Co Sligo. No defence was filed and Dr O'Mahony told the judge the case had settled. Counsel said there was no reference to liability.
Dr O'Mahony said the claim was that Emma was alive up to the end of labour and, had she been delivered sooner, she would have been born alive. He contended that the delay in delivery was due to the hospital's failure to properly monitor the baby's heart rate.
Ms Gilmartin was admitted to Sligo General Hospital on July 2nd, 2005, after going into labour. It was alleged the hospital had commenced a heart rate monitor but failed to recognise the CTG trace was abnormal from the start. CTG, or cardiotocography, monitors foetal heart rate and contractions.
It was claimed proper monitoring would have resulted in a decision at 2.30pm that Emma be delivered by Caesarean section. If Emma was delivered then or even any time up to 5.20pm, it was "more than likely" she would have been born alive and would have survived, it was claimed.
It was alleged the hospital wrongly allowed the labour to proceed until a decision was made at 5.10pm to effect delivery and Emma was born dead at 5.35pm. The parents claimed it was "entirely unacceptable" that it took 25 minutes to perform delivery when, it was alleged, most competent obstetricians would have carried out the procedure within five minutes or so. It was claimed the midwives became concerned some time before the decision to effect delivery because they had asked a doctor to review the CTG trace a number of times. It was alleged the doctor made "a quite inappropriate" decision to let the epidural wear off and await descent of the baby.
The parents claimed Emma appeared normal at first after birth and was placed on her mother's stomach but they then noticed the midwives looked very worried and everything went "very quiet".
Ms Gilmartin claimed the doctor eventually told her the baby had died and they did not know why. The parents said they could not believe it as, when they first saw Emma, she was "perfect", "still pink and still warm". They alleged they suffered nervous shock and continue to do so.
Ms Gilmartin claimed the doctor never sympathised with or apologised but "just spoke about God" and she felt there was "a total lack of respect". It was alleged she suffered post-traumatic stress disorder and avoids people with babies.
It was also claimed Mr Gilmartin became anxious and depressed as a result of Emma's death and its effect on his wife.
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