The High Court has approved a €2.9 million settlement of an action alleging a three-year-old girl suffered brain damage during her birth at University College Hospital, Galway.
Saoirse Fegan suffers from cerebral palsy and epilepsy, cannot move or sit upright and has to be fed intravenously.
Saoirse, suing by her mother, Mrs Geraldine Fegan, of Knocknacarra, Galway city, brought her action against the Western Health Board and Dr Declan Egan, a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist.
The settlement, approved by Mr Justice Kearns yesterday, was without admission of liability.
Ms Mary Irvine SC, for the health board, said that €2.9 million judgment was to be given against both Dr Egan and the health board jointly and the child's costs were against Dr Egan.
Mr Bruce Antoniotti SC, for Mrs Fegan (39), said Saoirse was born on May 29th, 2001.
She had suffered brain damage due to what the mother claimed was the negligence of Dr Egan and the hospital.
She has a remaining life expectancy of 19 years and would require constant care.
Ante-natal care had shown the baby was normal and healthy, counsel said.
At 1.55 p.m. on May 29th 2001, the child was ready to be born.
Notwithstanding that Dr Egan examined the mother and found she was fully dilated and the baby could have been delivered, he left the hospital, it was claimed.
Counsel said it had later transpired, by reason of the fact that the plaintiff's side had received experts' reports, that Dr Egan had left to attend private patients.
Mr Antoniotti said Dr Egan would claim he told midwives that, should anything amiss occur, he should be told immediately. Despite that, it appeared Dr Egan was a minimum of 15 to 20 minutes away from hospital at the stage when the birth was imminent.
Counsel said they were alleging some type of catastrophic event occurred at 3.33 p.m. and that Mrs Fegan's uterus ruptured. The baby was not born until 4 p.m. after 27 minutes of profound hypoxia with the child getting almost no blood or oxygen. The case being made was that, if the child had been born at 3.45 p.m., then she should have suffered no damage.
It was not certain the midwives recognised the severity of the problem which occurred at 3.33 p.m. because all they did was contact Dr Egan, Mr Antoniotti said. They did not contact an obstetrician who was available. Dr Egan arrived at 3.52 p.m. and succeeded in delivering the child.
After yesterday's hearing, Mrs Fegan said she felt relief that it was all over but sadness that it would not change life for Saoirse. The last three and a half years had been very difficult, a roller coaster ride of sadness, anger and frustration, she said.
While they felt sorrow at the time of her birth, Saoirse had brought a lot of happiness and joy to the family and they would not be without her, Mrs Fegan added.
The terms of yesterday's settlement allow for the purchase of a new home to facilitate the child and life-long nursing care.