Lady Wins Suit Against Doctor Who Allowed Her To Be Born

A show jumping lady who filed a suit against her mother’s doctor – claiming she should never have been born – has won the right to millions in damages in a landmark High Court ruling today.

Evie Toombes, 20, was born with spina bifida and sometimes spends 24 hours-a-day connected up to tubes, but has forged a career in show jumping, competing against both disabled and able-bodied riders.

Last month, in a unique ‘wrongful conception’ damages claim, Evie, from Skegness, sued Dr Philip Mitchell over his failure to advise her mother Caroline Toombes, 50, to take vital supplements before getting pregnant.

She claimed that if the doctor had told her mother she needed to take folic acid supplements to minimise the risk of spina bifida affecting her baby, she would have put off getting pregnant until she had done so – and as a result Evie would never have been born at all.

And in a landmark ruling in London today, Judge Rosalind Coe QC backed Evie’s case and awarded her the right to a huge compensation payout.

Lawyers for the lady who won the suit against the doctor who allowed her to be born said the amount Evie is claiming has not yet been calculated, but confirmed it would be ‘big’ since it would cover the cost of her extensive lifelong care needs.

The judge ruled that had Evie’s mother been ‘provided with the correct recommended advice, she would have delayed attempts to conceive.’

She added: ‘In the circumstances, there would have been a later conception, which would have resulted in a normal healthy child.’

The court had heard how Evie’s mother had made a ‘very precious decision to start a family’ after losing her parents when she was young, and had refrained from sexual intercourse, ‘until after they had received advice’ from the GP.

The ground-breaking ruling means that a healthcare professional can now be found liable for negligent pre-conception advice which results in the birth of a child with a serious health condition.

Evie Toombes, 20, pictured with her mother Caroline Toombes. Evie claimed that, had the doctor told her mother that she needed to take folic acid supplements to minimise the risk of spina bifida affecting her baby, she would have put off getting pregnant until she had done so – meaning Evie would never have been born at all.

Spina bifida is a fault in the development of the spine and spinal cord that leaves a gap in the spine.

About 1,500 babies are born with spina bifida each year in the US, according to the CDC . In the UK, approximately 1 in 1,000 babies are born with the condition.

Most cases are detected before birth, at the 20-week scan.

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