Woman, 20, sues doctor for allowing her to be born, wins millions – Times of India

A disabled equestrian showjumper in the United Kingdom won the right to millions of pounds in damages on Wednesday after claiming she should not have been born. Evie Toombes, 20, a spina bifida victim since birth — a condition where a baby’s spine and spinal cord fail to develop in the womb — sued her mother’s doctor in a unique “wrongful conception” court case. She said Dr Philip Mitchell failed to advise her mother to take vital folic acid, which minimises risk of the defect, before becoming pregnant. Had he done so, she claimed, her mother Caroline would have delayed conception until she had taken the supplement and, as a result, Evie would never have been born. Caroline, 50, would instead have had a different totally healthy baby, said Judge Rosalind Coe, who held Dr Mitchell liable. The ruling is a landmark one as it fixes the responsibility of healthcare professionals and holds them liable for improper pre-conception advice.
Evie, who has competed in showjumping internationally despite sometimes spending 24 hours a day connected to medical tubes, sued for “having been born in a damaged state”. Her lawyers earlier said the sum she is claiming is not yet calculated but will be “big” as it must cover the cost of extensive care for life. The case will return to court to decide the amount of Evie’s compensation, unless otherwise agreed by the parties.
Despite her mobility being “very limited”, New York Post reported that she hopes to compete in the paralympics. As she grows older she will be bound more frequently to a wheelchair. She suffers from bowel and bladder issues as a result of her condition, it said in its report.