The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Court awards €15m to child damaged at birth
Family lash HSE delay in admitting liability
THE family of a boy left severely disabled by failures surrounding his birth at CUH nearly nine years ago has criticised the HSE for the length of time it took it to admit liability in a case that concluded on Tuesday in a €15m settlement for the boy.
Jack Leane – through his mother Annette Leane of Lawlor’s Cross, Killarney – sued consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist Barbara Kerkhoff of Cork University Hospital and the HSE over his care and treatment before and during his birth at CUH on August 11, 2008.
“It was supposed to be the best day of our lives,” Annette Leane said on Tuesday following the High Court approval of the €15 million settlement.
“It was to be the day that our first born, Jack was to arrive into this world.”
The child had been perfectly normal up until that point of the pregnancy. But a delay in responding to a deceleration in the foetal heart rate ultimately led to catastrophic injuries, leaving Jack with cerebral palsy, wheelchair-bound, suffering epileptic seizures on a daily basis and requiring 24-hours’ nursing care.
It took the HSE until February of last year to admit liability and provide compensation, something Ms Leane was deeply critical of.
THE mother of a boy who was left brain-damaged by medical failures surrounding his birth at CUH nine years ago has criticised the HSE for the length of time it took it to admit liability in a case that this week concluded in a €15m settlement for the family.
The High Court approved the settlement on Tuesday in the case of Jack Leane who sued, through his mother Annette Leane of Lawlor’s Cross, Killarney, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist Barbara Kerkhoff of Cork University Hospital and the HSE over his care and treatment before and during his birth at CUH on August 11, 2008.
The HSE admitted liability in February of last year with an apology read in court for the boy and his family on behalf of the hospital stating: “We do not underestimate the impact this has had on you and you and your family and we are truly sorry.”
In the action, it was claimed, among other things, that there had been a failure to exercise due and proper care, skill and judgment in and about the clinical history taking, examination and management of the baby and his mother from her admission to CUH on the morning of August 11 until Jack was delivered just before 9pm that night.
There was a failure to notice or heed the fact that a cardio-tocograph (CTG) trace showed variable decelerations in the base line foetal heart rate for hours prior to birth, it was claimed.
There was a failure to heed the fact that the CTG trace was pathological and a failure to follow standard professional practice at that stage and perform foetal scalp blood sampling, it was alleged.
Oonagh McCrann SC, for the family, said the delays led to catastrophic injuries to the boy leaving him with cerebral palsy, wheelchair-bound, suffering daily epilepsy seizures and in need of 24/7 nursing care.
Annette Leane said the settlement gives the family ‘peace of mind’ and that the award represents the cost of providing care for little Jack for the rest of his life.
She was deeply critical of the length of time it took the HSE to admit liability:
“I would like to draw attention to the length of time it took for the [HSE] to admit liability and provide compensation. It took eight years for the HSE to admit liability. Why it took so long, I do not know,” Ms Leane said.
“If it took them eight years to find out grievously they injured Jack, it is even more disconcerting. The stress and cost of this action is a huge strain that not all families can sustain or even afford to start to investigate.”
She said that while Jack is entirely dependant on his parents for his every need he is not defined by his difficulties.
“He is so happy and brings us and his three brothers daily joy,” Ms Leane said.