The Health Service Executive (HSE), will be issuing an apology letter to the parents of a baby who passed away soon after birth at the Cork University Maternity Hospital. Emma Cosgrove and Kevin Dixon, the parents of Kyle Dixon, settled a lawsuit over his death, as revealed at the High Court on a previous Thursday.
Two weeks prior, an inquest into Kyle’s death disclosed the hospital’s admission to failures during a session with his mother, who delivered him on September 9, 2020. Tragically, Kyle was declared dead roughly an hour and 18 minutes post birth. After mediation, the court case was settled and as part of the settlement, the HSE agreed to send an apology letter to Kyle’s parents. The specifics of the settlement remain confidential with the division of the €35,000 statutory mental distress payment being the only aspect disclosed in court.
A verdict was passed, attributing the newborn’s death to medical error. The City Coroner’s Court in Cork, established that Kyle passed as a result of hypoxia post birth, a condition resulting from inadequate supply of oxygen or blood to the brain.
At 1.27 pm on September 9th, Kyle was born in a compromised state, with the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck, managing only a feeble gasp and showing no substantial respiratory effort. Soon after his birth, chest compressions and resuscitation attempts were initiated. Though a heart rate was detected at four minutes old, his heart ceased to beat later on, and he was declared dead at 2.45pm.
Within the legal case, allegations emerged that a review of a serious reportable event, initiated by the HSE following Kyle’s passing, had identified several shortcomings in the care he received. It was argued that the labour, delivery and birth management were deficient, with sustained foetal heart rate decelerations — becoming increasingly deep and prolonged — going unnoticed or unaddressed. Allegations also suggested a delay in initiating an emergency Caesarean section. The HSE admitted responsibility in the case.
During the resolving of the case, Justice Paul Coffey expressed his sincerest condolences to the infant’s kin. Ms Cosgrove, in her testimony, detailed the chaotic attempts to revive her newborn son following his birth. She narrated that the only noise heard from her son was a “gasp”, which, she and her spouse mistook for the beginning of his respiration. The disquieting sounds of her child’s resuscitation attempt led to the distraught mother pleading with the personnel to remove her from the premises. She stated, “I was intentionally averting my eyes from the scene, but I became acutely aware that it was lasting too long and I was unable to bear hearing them announce his death.” Stay updated with our Inside Politics Podcast for informed discussions and analysis. Enable push notifications to get the top news, analysis, and commentary directly on your device. Also, find The Irish Times on WhatsApp to stay current.