In a landmark judgement, a UK court awarded millions to a woman who sued her mother’s doctor for being born. Evie Toombes, 20 was born with a condition known as “spina bifida”, a birth defect that occurs when the spine and spinal cord do not form properly. She had to be hooked up to tubes sometimes upto 24 hours a day for the condition.
Toombes sued her mother’s doctor, Dr Philip Mitchell, on grounds of his failure to prescribe vital supplements to her mother before she got pregnant. Her argument was that if her mother would have been informed about the need to take folic acid supplements to overcome this risk affecting her child, she would have never gotten pregnant in the first place, thus ensuring Toombes to never have been born.
Judge Rosalind Coe QC from the London High Court supported Toombes’ assertion and handed down a decision in her favour, in what is believed to be a landmark case. The judge ruled that had Toombes’ mother been "provided with the correct recommended advice, she would have delayed attempts to conceive."
The judge added that had there been a later conception, it would have resulted in a normal healthy child without any complications. She awarded Toombes a huge pay-out which Toombes’ lawyer has not yet set but which is expected to be large enough to cover for Toombes’ medical lifelong medical expenses.
Despite having such a severe medical condition, Evie is a show jumping star having competed against both able bodied and challenged competitors.
