The negligence of a Coombe Maternity Hospital ultrasound scan operator and a hospital doctor caused twin boys to be stillborn to a Dublin mother, the High Court decided yesterday.
The twins would have survived if it were not for the negligence of hospital sonographer SiobháNí Scannaill and consultant obstetrician Dr Bernard Stuart, an expert in the field of ultrasound, Ms Justice Fidelma Macken said.
Ms Dorothy Cunningham had claimed her twin boys could have been saved had their condition in the womb been properly diagnosed and if they had been delivered sooner.
Ms Cunningham (46) of Bushy Park Road, Terenure, Dublin, had told the High Court she had suffered post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of events up to, during and since her twins were stillborn at the Coombe on August 18th, 1998.
Her reaction to having to deliver the babies the day after discovering they were dead and days after having sought a Caesarean section delivery had been one of "horror."
She claimed there had been a particular failure to diagnose that the twins were monochorionic - a condition in which twins share a single placenta and which a UK expert said carried risks similar to that of a triplet pregnancy.
Judge Macken found that Ms Ní Scannaill and Dr Stuart were equally liable to Ms Cunningham in respect of the death of her twins and said her finding related to liability solely in respect of the medical aspects of the case and not to any question of damages.
Ms Cunningham took her action against the Coombe Lying-in Hospital, two consultant obstetricians, Dr Paul Bowman and Dr Stuart and Ms Ní Scannaill. Judge Macken found that no liability attached to Dr Bowman for the death of the twins.
She said Ms Ní Scannaill was an employee of the hospital and it was therefore liable for her negligence. Dr Stuart's status at the hospital was unusual. He was a consultant obstetrician with a speciality in ultrasound but had not been sued in that capacity.
Although not originally employed by the hospital to run the ultrasound unit, because of his expertise, he had in fact done so on the instructions of the hospital and it remained unclear to the court whether he was an employee of the Coombe.
Judge Macken said Ms Cunningham felt very uncomfortable on August 12th, 1998 and requested that her babies be delivered by Caesarean section. It had been decided she would be induced on August 20th if she was not in labour by then.
On August 17th she had reported that, having felt strong movement, she then had no feeling of the babies moving at all and had been advised to go to the hospital immediately. She had arrived late in the evening and it was confirmed that both babies were dead. "She was sent home and then returned the following day when the babies were delivered, stillborn," the judge said.
Ms Cunningham's hospital chart recorded her as carrying dichorionic twins. Her pregnancy had been handled and she had been at all times monitored on the basis that her twins were dichorionic.
"It is common case between the parties, or is not disputed, that had Ms Cunningham's twins been delivered by Caesarean section or were otherwise induced, sooner than they were, it is likely, indeed even certain, that both babies would have survived birth and been born alive," Judge Macken said.
Ms Cunningham is claiming damages for personal injuries and mental distress due to negligence in relation to the management of her pregnancy and loss of her twins. The question of damages will be determined later.