Two young Dublin people who have been brain-damaged since birth are to be paid £5 million in settlements of their separate actions alleging medical negligence.
In the High Court yesterday, Mr Justice Johnson approved a settlement of £3 million in favour of Mr Francis Dolan (19), Roselawn, Ballydowd, Lucan.
Mr Dolan had sued Mount Carmel Hospital and two consultants - Dr Margaret Kennedy, a specialist in obstetrics and gynaecology, and Dr Brian Denham, a paediatrician - arising out of the circumstances of his birth.
Minutes earlier, Mr Justice Johnson approved a settlement of £2 million in favour of Ms Ruth Glynn (20), Grange Park Grove, Raheny, who had sued the governors and guardians of the Rotunda Hospital.
Both settlements were made without admission of liability.
The defendants in both cases denied negligence.
The settlements are among the highest to have come before the High Court, although there have been several cases alleging negligence in the circumstances of births.
Much of the settlement sums go towards long-term care.
The action brought by Mr Dolan, suing through his mother, Ms Bernadette Dolan, started earlier this month before Mr Justice Kearns. It was due to last several weeks.
When it was to resume yesterday, lawyers for Mr Dolan asked Mr Justice Johnson to approve the £3 million settlement. If it had not been approved, the hearing would have continued.
The case taken by Ms Glynn, suing through her father, Mr Kevin Glynn, had not started. Had it done so, it too would probably have lasted some weeks, resulting in substantial legal costs.
Mr Dolan has cerebral palsy and the mental age of a 41/2-year-old, it was stated. He was born following a Caesarean section on April 26th, 1982.
It was claimed he should have been admitted to a special obstetrics hospital for consistent monitoring and with back-up facilities. He was subsequently brought to Our Lady's Hospital, Crumlin.
Ms Dolan said they brought him for treatment to the Peto Institute in Hungary over a three-year period, which the family financed. She gave her son physiotherapy for about two hours each day.
He was confined to a wheelchair as he had no balance.
Her son thought himself normal and wanted to be either a garda, a politician or a lawyer, believing he was going to walk some day.
Ms Glynn's mother, Ms Constance Glynn, who died in 1997, had attended the Rotunda Hospital early in 1981.
Her daughter was born on August 27th, 1981, four days after she had been admitted.
The child was later diagnosed as suffering from significant neurological problems and cerebral palsy.
She is wheelchair-bound and requires ongoing care.