A showjumper who sued her mother's doctor claiming she should have never been born has won the right to millions of dollars in damages, in a landmark UK court case.
Evie Toombes, 20, was born with spina bifida - a condition that affects the spine and is usually apparent at birth. It occurs when a developing baby's spinal cord fails to develop or close properly while in the womb.
Toombes, who is a decorated showjumper, submitted a 'wrongful conception' damages claim against Dr Phillip Mitchell. The claim centres around the doctor's failure to advise Toombes' mother to take vital supplements before she got pregnant.
Toombes claims if Dr Mitchell told her mother she needed to take folic acid to reduce the risk of spina bifida, she would have put off getting pregnant - and as a result Evie wouldn't have been born.
And in a landmark court decision on Wednesday Judge Rosalind Coe QC agreed, awarding Toombes the right to a huge payout.
Judge Coe ruled that if Toombes' mother was "provided with the correct recommended advice, she would have delayed attempts to conceive".
"In the circumstances, there would have been a later conception, which would have resulted in a normal healthy child," she said.
The landmark case opens the doorway for healthcare professionals to be found liable for negligent pre-conception advice which resulted in the birth of a child with a serious health condition.
The amount of Toombes claim is not yet known but her lawyer said it would need to be enough to cover the cost of her extensive lifelong care needs.
Folic acid has been proven to prevent serious birth defects such as spina bifida.
As a result several countries including New Zealand, The UK and the US have made it mandatory to add the supplement to bread.
