€1.5m interim settlement for girl brain injured at birth

The High Court has approved an interim settlement of €1.5 million in the case of a now 15-year-old girl who was brain injured at birth.

It is the fourth interim payment and brings to €4.5 million the total so far approved for Sarah McFeely, from Letterkenny, Co Donegal, who sued the HSE through her mother Bronagh Colhoun for negligence and breach of duty.

When the case first came to court in 2013 her lawyers said the girl’s mother had been given excessive amounts of a drug used to stimulate labour which caused brain damage to the baby.

The court was told Sarah McFeely has cerebral palsy and is severely disabled as a result.

The legal action was launched when Ms Couhoun tried to get an explanation for her daughter’s condition but was refused a meeting with medical staff, the court was told.

The first interim settlement for €1.3 million was approved in 2013 and there have been two further payments approved before today.

The case was adjourned in the expectation that legislation governing periodic payments would be introduced.

However, since its introduction there have been calls for that legislation to be amended to change the way in which periodic payments are assessed.

Currently linked to the Consumer Price Index, some experts say such index linked annual payments may result in plaintiffs running out of money in the future as the costs of care rise above the rate of inflation.

Today, the family’s solicitor David O’Malley said the interim settlement was welcome but he said Sarah McFeely had been waiting 11 years for adequate legislation governing periodic payments.

Mr O’Malley said it was the fourth time the family had come to court.

“The actual cost as borne out by today’s settlement far exceeds what the consumer price index would have provided,” he said.

“Sarah’s needs cannot be equated to the average rise in consumer spending. We awaited that index 11 years ago when the case was first settled.

“Sarah has waited an entire childhood for a proper index rate. The Minister has had the long awaited power to change the index rate by regulation for almost a year.

“How many more times must a family come to court for fairness to prevail from our executive?

“We would encourage the minister to do that now to avoid other families being dragged up to the courts every four years.”

The case will return to court again in four years.