A young woman with cerebral palsy has secured €1.4 million in settlement of her High Court action over alleged negligence in the circumstances of her birth at Wexford General Hospital. The settlement is without admission of liability.
Deborah French, now 24, sued the Health Service Executive and consultant obstetrician Harry Murphy through her mother, Ann, over the circumstances of her birth in 1987. The defendants denied the claims.
Mr Justice John Quirke yesterday heard the case had been settled without any admission of liability.
The judge was told there were issues concerning the “causation” of the cerebral palsy, with conflicting opinions on when it occurred. Approving the settlement, the judge said the family might be in danger of “getting nothing” at a trial and believed this involved an “enormous risk”.