Senior Partner, Emmet Halley, represents Martha Gallagher (aged 6 years), and recently achieved a settlement of a once off lump sum payment of €8,800,000.00 for her in respect of injuries caused as a result of circumstances surrounding her birth at University Hospital Waterford (formerly WRH) in June 2011.
During labour, which progressed throughout the day, Martha suffered distress which, it was claimed, was not observed or monitored. Martha was eventually delivered at 9.16 p.m. having suffered prolonged partial asphyxia during the labour.
It was claimed on Martha’s behalf that the medical team looking after Martha’s mother during labour failed to interpret the signs of foetal distress from early afternoon onwards and also allegedly failed to respond appropriately or at all to the abnormal foetal heart rate in the hours prior to delivery.
The claim was denied by the Health Service Executive.
Martha did not walk until she was about 3 years old. She is visually impaired and cannot see below her nose. She also has difficulty with right-sided peripheral vision. Those issues were only diagnosed within the past 2 years. She is in mainstream school with the assistance of an SNA and resource teachers etc.
The settlement was achieved during a full day of mediation and was approved by Judge Kevin Cross on the 20th December, 2017. The settlement provides for Martha’s needs, including care, and all therapies she will require, for the rest of her life.
Her mother, when asked why she had decided to opt for a lump sum, stated that she and her husband wanted closure, rather than being subjected to audits and ongoing assessments in the coming years and they wanted to move on with their lives.
Both of them were thrilled with the outcome as the sum was well in excess of what they were expecting to achieve.
They commended their legal team for the way the case was handled and the eventual outcome.