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23rd June 2024
05:07pm BST
A woman who sued her mother’s GP for allowing her to be born has won the right to millions of pounds in damages.
Evie Toombes, from Skegness, Lincolnshire, was born with spina bifida, and last month she sued Dr Philip Mitchell for his failure to advise her mother Caroline Toombes to take vital supplements before getting pregnant.
Despite her disability, she has gone on to have a successful career in showjumping.
In the case, the 23-year-old claimed that if Dr Mitchell had told her mother to take folic acid supplements to minimise the risk of spina bifida affecting her baby, then she would have been put off the idea of getting pregnant until she had taken the supplements, therefore meaning that Evie would never have been born.
In a ruling at the High Court in November 2021, Judge Rosalind Coe QC ruled in Evie’s favour and awarded her the right to a huge compensation payout.
Judge Coe 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.”
Toombes’ lawyers say that the amount she is due has not been calculated but said it would be ‘big’ as it would need to cover the cost of her extensive care needs for life.
During the case, Evie’s barrister, Susan Rodway QC told the court that Toombes was suing for ‘wrongful conception’ and for ‘having been born in a damaged state.”
Three years on from her win in court, Toombes now works to raise awareness for her illness while also spending time para showjumping with her horse, Daisy.
On her website, she explains: "I was born with a form of Spina Bifida, which affects the nerves to my legs, bladder and bowel, but having a passion in life gives me purpose and direction."
