The High Court yesterday approved a settlement of €4 million damages for a boy who is permanently and profoundly disabled and has cerebral palsy as a result of negligence in the circumstances of his birth at a Co Galway hospital.
The action was brought on behalf of Séamus Dwyer through his mother, Mary Dwyer, of Corroy, Ballymurray, Co Roscommon, following the birth of Séamus at Portiuncula Hospital, Ballinasloe, Co Galway, on March 24th, 1999.
John Monaghan, a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist attached to the hospital, had admitted liability in the proceedings and the High Court had been asked to assess the level of damages for Séamus's care, loss of earnings, aids and appliances, and future care.
Yesterday, Mr Justice Paul Butler said he had no hesitation in approving the settlement agreed between counsel for both sides and said he wished the family "all the best".
They had had a very tough time, he added. The settlement includes €900,000 for assisted technology aimed at helping Séamus to communicate through a special computer.
Séamus was born showing no signs of life after an induced labour. Following resuscitation, he was kept at the special care baby unit at the hospital for a week before he was transferred to Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin, Dublin.
The court heard that Séamus is profoundly disabled, suffers from cerebral palsy, and has severe intellectual and physical deficits resulting in spastic quadriplegia affecting all four limbs.
He is dependent on others for all his daily activities and is likely to remain so and is unable to walk or sit independently. His condition is irreversible and he will continue to require ongoing treatment and assistance for the rest of his life.
Counsel for the Dwyers, Bruce Antoniotti SC, told the court that yesterday was, "most poignantly", the little boy's seventh birthday.
At the time of his birth, his mother, Mary, was a full-time teacher and his father a senior engineer with Roscommon County Council. Ms Dwyer returned to work when Séamus was born but she found it too difficult to cope and had to quit. Another son, Michael, born in 2001, is autistic and has hearing difficulties.
Mr Antoniotti said the Dwyers have a lot on their plate and before Séamus was born had very high expectations for the future of their child, including that he would attend third-level education. "He would have been a lively, happy, active normal child," counsel said.
However, his life expectancy now is 31 years.
Significant abnormalities showed in the CT scan when Séamus was born. Services for him in the past had been inadequate and have not helped him develop, Mr Antoniotti said. He was getting better movement of his head, arms and legs but it would never be perfect.
The Dwyers loved both their children and the settlement would enable Séamus to have care for the rest of his life in an extension of the family home.
Mr Justice Butler congratulated the Dwyers and their legal team on reaching a settlement of what the judge described as a very difficult and complicated case.