A £1.12m interim birth injury brain damage award has been approved in the High Court by Mr. Justice John Quirk in the case of Luke Miggin who suffered brain damage during his birth in 2006.
The court was advised how Luke’s mother, Emily, was taken to hospital at 5.30am on the morning of February 26 2006 in preparation for Luke´s birth, under the care of consultant obstetrician Michael Gannon. It was claimed that Dr Gannon did not take note of decelerations in the child’s heart rate during CTG traces throughout the day, which should have led him to conclude that delivery by Caesarean section was necessary.
Instead, Dr Gannon delayed until 3.30pm to order the administration of the labour-inducing drug Syntocin, and delivered Luke by forceps at 5.05pm that evening. Luke instantly required resuscitation and was transferred to the special baby care unit. Luke is now four years old and has cerebral palsy, uses a wheelchair and will need 24-hour care for the rest of his life.
Liability was admitted by the health service and consultant obstetrician Michael Gannon, and in approving the interim award, Mr Justice John Quirke stated that should legislation not be in place within two years to deal with lifetime care in catastrophic injury cases, the case will be re-listed for further consideration.