A 15-year-old girl who is seriously disabled and suffers from cerebral palsy recently received a temporary concession of €1.59 million, adding to the total sum of €4.5 million that has been dispensed thus far. This marks the fourth time Sarah McFeely has appeared in court to accept an interim payment, which began 11 years ago when she initially settled the lawsuit regarding her birth at Letterkenny General Hospital.
In this lawsuit, Sarah’s mother, Bronagh Colhoun from Cill Grien, Lismonaghhan, Letterkenny, sued the Health Service Executive (HSE) accusing them of negligent treatment during her pregnancy and Sarah’s birth in September 2008. Mr Justice Paul Coffey concurred that liability was not a matter of debate in this case and sanctioned the latest temporary payment, intended to fund the ensuing four years.
The case detailed that Colhoun entered labour on September 27th, 2008, and was admitted to Letterkenny General Hospital. The inducement of labour, achieved through the administration of the drug syntocinon, began at 2.30pm. According to the lawsuit, by 4pm, a significant change in character was observed in the CTG, suggesting overstimulation. Consequently, a doctor recommended discontinuing the administration of syntocinon. An epidural was then requested and administered at around 6pm, after which syntocinon was restarted.
Despite the epidural, it was alleged that Colhoun was still in discomfort and the syntocinon dosage was accordingly increased. It was stated that the application of different vacuum cups delayed Sarah’s birth, which only occurred 39 minutes after the commencement of a vacuum delivery process.
Colhoun claimed that there was an excessive use of syntocinon, failure to acknowledge hyperstimulation, and additionally a failure to proceed with a Caesarean section, therefore delaying Sarah’s birth. The court was previously informed that Sarah suffers from dyskinetic cerebral palsy which affects her whole body and leaves her without any movement in her right side.
In 2012, the HSE admitted liability in an open letter, making the case exclusively concerned with determining the damages. The court was also informed that Colhoun, a nurse by profession, has been taking care of her daughter since her birth.