Boy claims aggravated damages over care by doctor struck off in UK

A boy with cerebral palsy suing over the circumstances of his birth at Cavan General Hospital in 2017 is seeking aggravated damages over his care allegedly being entrusted to a doctor who was struck off the UK medical register two years ago.

The High Court was told Tadhg James McKenna is seeking exemplary or aggravated damages after it emerged Dr Aamir Iqbal Malik was allegedly involved at his birth.

Last month, Dr Malik was suspended by the High Court from the medical register in Ireland pending an inquiry.

High Court president Mr Justice Peter Kelly noted Dr Malik, who qualified as a doctor in Pakistan in 1989, had been struck off the medical register in the UK in 2018 for professional misconduct based on findings of dishonesty in how he conducted his practice as a doctor there.

In the case of Tadhg, it is claimed his care at birth in August 2017 was entrusted to Dr Malik who, it is claimed, had neither the professional capacity or competence to provide such care at all or without appropriate supervision.

On Wednesday, Mr Justice Kevin Cross was told the new developments in the case have caused stress for the McKenna family but they do not want the case delayed.

Andrea Mulligan BL, for the HSE, said it is investigating the new aspect to the case. Liability had previously been conceded in relation to breach of duty but causation had remained at issue, she said.

Tadhg, of Sruth An Mhuillan, Emyvale, Co Monaghan, through his mother Emma Louise McKenna, has sued the HSE over the circumstances of his birth at Cavan General Hospital on August 31st 2017.

He was born suffering from severe perinatal asphyxia and had to be resuscitated. It is claimed the mother’s labour was allowed to continue for over 16 hours and there was failure to appropriately monitor the mother during labour and delivery.

It is further claimed there was failure to monitor the fetal heart rate and to detect or take account of CTG abnormalities.

In an additional claim, it is alleged the HSE entrusted the baby’s care to Dr Malik at a time when it ought to have known he had been subject to disciplinary sanction and was in the course of a disciplinary investigation and allegedly had neither the professional capacity nor competence to provide such care.

The HSE, it is further alleged, failed to ensure it had in place an appropriate administrative regime to alert medical administrative staff of the disciplinary status of medical practitioners operating in conjunction with them.

The HSE, it is claimed, owed a duty to ensure the employment as well as deployment of medical staff, specifically medical doctors, was conducted in such a way as to ensure, in relation to doctors registered with a non national registration authority, the HSE was fully informed of any disciplinary investigation or sanction imposed.

The case, expected to last two weeks, was listed for hearing in September.