A ten-year-old boy, who alleged through his mother that he suffered foetal distress due to a hospital´s mismanagement of his birth, has had an interim compensation settlement for cerebral palsy approved at the High Court.
Jamie Patterson from Drimnagh in Dublin was born in November 2002 at the city´s Coombe Hospital after his mother – Teresa – had been administered the drug Syntocinon to help start her contractions.
However, the hospital allegedly failed to take into account that the administration of the drug could cause foetal distress without careful monitoring, and Jamie was born with cerebral palsy and spastic quadriplegia.
Through his mother, Jamie – who is unable to talk and can only communicate through body language and facial expressions – made a claim for cerebral palsy compensation on the grounds that Coombe Hospital failed to exercise a proper standard of care for Jamie and his mother.
The claims were denied by the hospital but, at the High Court in Dublin, Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O´Neill heard that an interim compensation settlement for cerebral palsy of €1.58 million had been agreed between Jamie´s legal representatives and the Health Service Executive.
The judge also heard that the interim compensation settlement for cerebral palsy was made without admission of liability. Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O´Neill approved the settlement – saying that it was an extremely prudent settlement – and adjourned the case for two years while an assessment is made of Jamie´s future needs.