Court awards £5 million in birth trauma cases

Two young people are to receive total payouts of £5 million after they won High Court cases brought against medical authorities…

Two young people are to receive total payouts of £5 million after they won High Court cases brought against medical authorities because of brain damage suffered at birth.

Mr Francis Dolan, 19, of Lucan, Dublin, is to receive £3 million after initiating action against Dublin's Mount Carmel hospital. He also sued two consultants, Dr Margaret Kennedy, a specialist in obstetrics and gynaecology, and paediatrician, Dr Brian Denham.

The proceedings, which started earlier this month, had been expected to go on for a number of weeks, but after hearing today from lawyers, Mr Justice Richard Johnson approved the settlement figure.

Earlier, the same judge approved a settlement in advance of a hearing of £2 million for Ms Rose Glyn, 20, from Raheny, Dublin, who had sued Dublin's Rotunda Hospital.

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The settlements were both made without acceptance of liability, and in each case the defendants denied negligence.

Mr Dolan was said to suffer from cerebral palsy and have the mental age of a four-and-a-half-year-old child. He was born after a caesarean operation.

Ms Glynn was diagnosed after her birth as suffering from neurological problems.

The sums agreed were among the highest settlements to be made in any Irish court.