Mr Justice Kelly said his decision against awarding damages for the future costs of rearing the children was in harmony with the majority of decisions in the common law world.
On the claim for damages for the physical consequences of the failure of the sterilisation procedure, the judge noted that Ms Byrne's subsequent pregnancies had resulted in the births of two unique human beings and that Danielle and Damien were both healthy.
He noted the hospital had conceded, in the event of a finding of negligence, that she was entitled to damages for the pain, suffering and inconvenience of pregnancy and childbirth and he also accepted Ms Byrne's evidence that both pregnancies had "attendant difficulties" above the norm. He awarded Ms Byrne €45,000 damages for physical consequences relating to the birth of Danielle and €35,000 relating to Damien's birth. He said he was taking into account the emotional distress caused when Ms Byrne discovered she was pregnant.
He awarded a further €10,000 in respect of the second tubal ligation she had to undergo in December 2002.
He made the awards on the basis of his findings of a breach of duty of care owed to Ms Byrne by Dr Murray in carrying out the tubal ligation and a breach of duty of care by the Coombe hospital in failing to clearly tell Ms Byrne of the failure of the sterilisation and to offer appropriate treatment to rectify that position.
The hospital had contended that, in signing the consent form to the tubal ligation, Ms Byrne had consented to a risk of failure and to relieving Dr Murray of any liability, the judge noted.
Mr Justice Kelly said he could not accept such a proposition. The consent was to the administration of an anaesthetic and not a consent to the carrying out of a failure.
Still less was it a consent to the carrying out of the operation in a negligent fashion. The consent form could not be regarded as exonerating Dr Murray in respect of his failure to effectively clip both fallopian tubes, the judge said.
Earlier, the judge noted that Ms Byrne's sterilisation operation on December 16th, 1999, was dealt with as a day case. However, in March 2000, when she was brought to Naas hospital A&E with extreme abdominal pain, it was discovered that she was three months pregnant.
Ms Byrne had no recollection of ever being informed during the course of her pregnancy with Danielle that her sterilisation had failed, the judge said. She should have been informed and, had she been, it was likely she would have behaved in a manner other than she did following the birth of Danielle, he said.
Mr Justice Kelly said he was satisfied that, when Ms Byrne was discharged from the Coombe hospital following Danielle's birth, a junior doctor had made clear there was uncertainty about her fertility.
However, she was not told "in clear and unequivocal terms" then or at any stage during her stay in the Coombe that the tubal ligation had failed and she should have been. Had her GP been told of the correct position by the hospital, he would have advised her on appropriate contraceptive measures.
Dr Murray was part of the permanent staff of the hospital and performance of the operation was part of a service provided by the hospital to Ms Byrne, the judge also found.
Issues relating to any alleged liability of Dr Murray will be decided at a later stage. Mr Justice Kelly adjourned the case for mention on July 11th.