The professor of paediatrics at UCD told the High Court yesterday that a lesion on the spine of a 16 year old girl who has problems using her hand was a minor condition in the common usage of the expression spina bifida.
Prof Thomas Mathews was giving evidence on behalf of Dr Brian Denham, a consultant paediatrician, of Whinsfield, Sandyford, Co Dublin, who is being sued by Ms Gemma Lynch, through her mother Mrs Patricia Lynch, Brackenbush Park, Killiney, Co Dublin. She is also suing Mount Carmel Hospital where she was born in 1980.
The girl, who is alleged to have spina bifida, is claiming negligence and breach of duty when she was born. Dr Denham and the hospital deny Gemma was born with spina bifida and deny negligence. The hearing continues.