A FOUR-year-old boy who is alleged to have suffered brain damage during his birth has received an apology and a settlement of €7.5million from University Maternity Hospital Limerick and the Health Service Executive.
The apology relates to claims of shortcomings in care of Jamie Roche, from Nenagh in Tipperary, at the time of his birth after a warning reading on monitoring equipment was alleged to have not been acted upon.
The apology was read in the High Court to Jamie, who has cerebral palsy, and a settlement to cover the next six years of his care was approved.
In the letter of apology, the HSE and the hospital said they wanted to sincerely apologise to Jamie and to his family for what occurred on August 18, 2018, relating to his condition at birth.
In a statement to the court, Jamie’s mother, Sinead Roche, said they were happy with the settlement, although she and her husband would wish that life could have been different for their son.
The case against the respondents was that there was an alleged total failure to properly interpret the CTG trace which monitors the baby’s heartbeat before birth and which should have resulted in an emergency delivery being carried out.
The child was delivered two hours after the CTG trace was noticed to be abnormal and as a result of the alleged delay, he suffered a brain injury.
The settlement includes €4.2million towards the boy’s care until 2029. The case will come back before the High Court in 2029 when Jamie’s future care needs will be assessed.
