A couple who claimed the death of one of their twin babies was due to negligence at Cork's Erinville Hospital have secured an apology and €89,000 damages in a settlement of their High Court action.
Anne and Seán O'Donovan, Sarahville Place, Pouladuff Road, Cork, had sued the Southern Health Board and Dr Usha Bohra, an obstetrician and gynaecologist, for loss, damage and mental distress in relation to the circumstances of the birth of their son Eoin - the second of twins - at the hospital on April 30th, 1998.
Eoin was alleged to have sustained severe injuries during his mother's labour and died on May 9th, 1998.
The case was settled yesterday on the basis of an apology to the couple from both defendants and an award of €89,000 damages. The settlement, announced by Dr John O'Mahony SC, for the couple, was approved by the president of the High Court, Mr Justice Joseph Finnegan.
The apology stated: "On behalf of the defendants, an apology is hereby offered to Mr Seán and Mrs Anne O'Donovan in respect of the matter complained of in the above titled proceedings."
Outside court, Ms O'Donovan said it had been "a long and hard road" for her family over the past 8½ years. She said they had sought answers from the doctors but such answers "were not forthcoming". "After 8½ years, we've received an apology. If the apology was forthcoming when we met the doctors concerned, we would not be here today."
She claimed that, after the birth, she was crying in bed and Dr Bohra had said to her: "What are you crying for? You have one baby."
"That comment really hurt and it will stay with me forever," she said.
The defendants, it was claimed, caused an unnecessary period of one hour to elapse between the births of the twins and failed to intervene properly or at all.
It was also claimed the defendants caused or permitted Eoin to suffer severe hypoxic injury during the second stage of labour and failed to follow international obstetric practice.