A woman won millions of dollars in damages after suing her mother’s doctor for allowing her to be born.
Evie Toombes, a 20-year-old woman with spina bifida (a spinal defect) who spends her days hooked up to tubes, thinks she would not have been born if her mother had received correct medical advice.
Her pregnancy would have been delayed and Evie would not have been born if her mother’s doctor, Philip Mitchell, had advised her to take folate supplements to lessen the risk of the spinal deformity affecting the baby.
Judge Rosalind Coe QC backed Evie’s case, finding in a landmark judgement in the London High Court that if her mother had been properly warned, she would have postponed her pregnancy.
“In the circumstances, a later pregnancy would have resulted in a normal healthy kid,” the judge found, awarding Evie millions in damages.
“I was told that if I had a decent diet before, I wouldn’t need to take folic acid,” Evie’s mother testified in court, supporting her daughter’s claim.
Evie is a showjumper who has competed against able-bodied and impaired riders.
Evie Toombes’ mother had already testified in court that if Dr Mitchell had counselled her appropriately, she would have postponed her pregnancy plans. “I was told that if I ate a healthy diet before, I wouldn’t need to take folic acid,” she explained to the judge.
The decision is significant because it establishes that a healthcare expert can be held accountable for faulty pre-conception advice that results in the baby’s birth with substantial health problems.
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