An obstetrician who is being sued for damages by a boy who is quadriplegic and suffers from cerebral palsy told the High Court yesterday that there was no delay in the delivery of the child at the Bon Secours Hospital, Cork.
Dr David A. Corr said Ian O'Mahony's condition was perfectly good at his birth on May 11th, 1987, and the baby "came out normally". He was certain that a post-birth APGAR test - which measures the well-being of babies and on which Ian scored eight, indicating a healthy baby - was conducted within three minutes of the birth.
He was giving evidence at the continuing hearing of an action in which the doctor and the Bon Secours hospital are being sued by Ian through his mother, Mrs Ann O'Mahony, of Beechwood Grove, Onslow Gardens, Commons Road, Cork. Both defendants deny negligence.
Cross-examined by Mr Henry Hickey SC, for Ian O'Mahony, Dr Corr said he could not account for 40 minutes of missing recording paper from the foetal heart monitor on the day Ian was born. Earlier, Dr Corr said he believed the child was not admitted to the hospital's special baby care unit, as claimed by Mrs O'Mahony. Even if he was, the baby was there only "as a lodger", the witness said. There were no paediatric notes in relation to any period of time the baby may have spent in the unit.
The hearing continues today.