A four-year-old boy who suffered brain injuries at birth has settled damages with the HSE on on terms including an initial interim payment of €2 million.
Waterford Regional Hospital has apologised to four year old boy and his parents, the High Court has heard.
The hospital said it sincerely regrets the injuries caused to Dylan Kenny and "the undoubted trauma which has been suffered by his parents".
The High Court was today told of the settlement of his damages action on terms including an initial interim payment of €2 million to cover his care over the next three years.
Dylan, Beech Drive, Greenfield, Old Tramore Road, Waterford has cerebral palsy and cannot walk independently. His counsel Bruce Antoniotti SC said he is a happy boy who laughs a lot and his parents can understand the few words he says.
In its apology, Waterford Regional Hospital said it sincerely apologises to Dylan and his parents “for the devastating injuries which the hospital accepts should not have happened”.
Through his mother, Claire O’Brien, the child had sued the HSE over the management of her labour and the circumstances of his birth in Waterford Regional Hospital in January 2010.
It was claimed there was a failure to monitor the foetal heart properly or at all during labour, and a failure to appreciate the worrisome CTG traces throughout the labour, as well as a failure to discern or react to the signs of foetal distress and hypoxia.
It was also claimed there was a failure to deliver Dylan as quickly as possible once there were clear signs of foetal distress. The baby, it was alleged, was delivered far too late and after foetal compromise and there was a failure to meet the relevant standard of care during the first and second stages of labour.