The Coombe Maternity Hospital has been ordered to pay a death at birth compensation payment of €35,000 by the High Action to the parents of an Rory Jason Sweeney Butler, who passed away hours after he his gave birth to him.
Appearing in Court on behalf of infant’s family, Richard Kean SC made the judge aware that this case was caused by the untimely and “very tragic” death of baby Rory. Rory passed away on November 19 2015 at the Coombe Maternity Hospital. His parent, Assumpta Sweeney and Jason Butler, alleged that this unfortunate course of events too place due to medical negligence compensation and submitted a death at birth compensation action against the Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital. The claim stated that the hospital had been negligent during the birth and that they suffered from nervous shock for many months due in the aftermath of their son’s wrongful death in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit.
Liability in the case was accepted by the Coombe maternity hospital.
At the High Court approval was given for the statutory compensation award by Justice Robert Eager, this is known as the solatium for distress for the parents and siblings of the child. The Judge was made aware that other family members had waived any entitlement to any payment out of the award.
Along with this the Court was also told that there are due to be more, separate, legal proceedings taken in relation the the circumstances of Rory’s tragic death.
The Coombe Hospital has a sad history in relation to birth negligence comments, on earlier occasions the hospital has been ordered to pay compensations in relation to issues that were experienced during the delivery of their child. In 2013 the maternity hospital was found to be at fault in the case of a dyskinetic cerebral palsy medical negligence compensation claim which was submitted by the parents of a then 10-year-old boy who was born suffering from near complete acute hypoxic ischaemia. An official investigation into the incident the claim revealed that dyskinetic cerebral palsy was caused by medical negligence.
Dara Brennan, who suffered a facial injury during his birthday at the Coombe Hospital on November 12, 2009 was awarded €65,000 medical negligence compensation and Eoin McCallig from Dunkineely in Co Donegal and his parents were awarded €15m in relation to the injuries he sustained his birth when he was not supplied with enough oxygen during his birth.