Settlement of €5m for girl left brain-damaged after birth

The parents of a two-year-old girl, who was severely brain damaged due to deficiencies in her care soon after her birth, have described what happened to their daughter as a "nightmare sequence of errors".

In an emotional address to the High Court, Lisa Ronan, from Roscarberry in Co Cork, described how she and her husband had begged doctors to intervene after her daughter Kitty-Mae Hayes suffered multiple seizures in the days and weeks after she was born.

Today, Children's Health Ireland apologised for deficiencies in care of Kitty-Mae Hayes which led to a life a changing catastrophic brain injury.

Their lawyers told the court that her brain injury could have been prevented by "one simple procedure".

Today the court approved an interim settlement of €5 million in the case which will provide for accommodation and specialist therapies for the next four years.

An apology read in court on behalf of CHI Crumlin said it wished to unreservedly apologise for the deficiencies in care provided which resulted in the severity of her injuries and the consequential distress and trauma suffered by her parents and sibling.

"We acknowledge and deeply regret the life-changing circumstances for Kitty-Mae at the hospital and the devastation and suffering endured," the apology read.

'Misread scans'

In the witness box, Lisa Ronan said her daughter was the subject of "misread scans, people too busy to read scans, arrogance and over confidence and requests for a second opinion ignored".

She said it was not a story about a victim but one of hope for parents to be strong advocates for their children.

The High Court was told that Kitty-Mae Hayes was born on 13 October 2022 at Cork University Maternity Hospital and was transferred to CHI Crumlin because of a heart murmur. However, a vascular malformation in her brain was also discovered that put her at risk of brain injury.

The court was told Kitty-Mae’s parents were told that she was receiving the best care and that she did not need further treatment - despite brain scans that showed evolving brain damage and daily seizures that were not responding to anti-epileptic drugs.

Senior Counsel Jeremy Maher told the court that the baby’s parents’ faith in the health care system was "completely misplaced" and that "repeated failures" took place leading to devastating consequences for Kitty-Mae and her family.

After 23 days a procedure was performed to treat the vascular malformation but by then the baby had suffered brain damage causing a Grade 5 cerebral palsy - the most severe degree. All four of her limbs are affected with her sight, hearing, intellectual function, mobility and her life expectancy has been considerably shortened. She will need additional care for life.

Mr Maher told the court that "simply put had the requisite care been exercised in this case - one simple procedure - the condition would have been resolved".

He said immediate action should have been taken after the first seizure, but it did not take place despite the parents continuously agitating for their daughter and asking what was going to happen. "They were repeatedly told to wait and see," he said.

Lisa Ronan told the court that "seizure after seizure after seizure our beautiful little girl was telling them 'I am sick, help me’ and all they did was medicate".

She described what happened as "nightmare sequence of errors" and said brain scans had been ignored or not understood and vital treatment was not provided on time.

"All this happened while we pleaded with them to take her clearly deteriorating condition more seriously. Above all we were haunted by that inability to get them to listen to us," she said.

'They gave up on her'

Ms Ronan and her husband Declan Hayes said even after their daughter’s brain injury was appreciated the health service failed her. "They gave up on her and even questioned whether we should try to save her life, let alone maximise her ability and opportunity in life. Vital therapies that have given her so much more movement, comfort and potential were only available abroad and in her case the State argued these were unnecessary."

The couple had to pay privately for those therapies in Ireland and abroad leading to what they said were life-changing improvements for their daughter such as being able to feed independently and lift her head.

"Parents will always have to fight for their children, but those responsible for such catastrophic harm should not make it this hard, should not obstruct us or withhold an admission of responsibility until the eve of a trial. Surely, they should engage with families and ask, ‘how can we make this better for you?’"

The couple paid tribute to their legal team at Cian O’Carroll solicitors for what they described as their "integrity and faith in us and in Kitty-Mae" adding: "Finally the most important person in all of this, our precious Kitty-Mae, you are the bravest, strongest and most determined little two-year-old.

"At every hurdle you overcame, and you are now a vibrant, smiling and happy little girl with so much potential - potential we can keep building on thanks to this settlement."

Ms Justice Brett approved the interim settlement of €5m and adjourned the case for four years.

The judge paid tribute to Kitty-Mae’s parents and legal team for expediting the case, saying it was rare for a case such as this to reach a settlement in a year.

The judge said she had no doubt the settlement would allow Kitty-Mae to access ongoing therapy and the best opportunities.