Damages for disabled quads

The case was heard at the High Court

A couple have been awarded more than £1m damages for their disabled children after claiming that doctors failed properly to supervise the wife's assisted conception.

Vivien Heath gave birth to quadruplets after being given drugs to induce conception.

It is common ground between the experts that that sequence of events constituted a breach of duty to the

Adrian Whitfield QC

The babies were born prematurely at 26 weeks on Christmas Eve 1992. Three are disabled. The fourth died the day after birth.

Mrs Heath and her husband Clive, from Orpington, Kent, took their case to the High Court in London on Monday. They had already sued Bromley Health Authority.

Adrian Whitfield QC, representing the couple, told Mr Justice Leveson that the action was for injuries that the babies sustained.

Cerebral palsy

Kristian, who weighed 2lb 7oz at birth, suffered a brain haemorrhage and now has cerebral palsy.

Matthew, who weighed 2lb 1oz, and his sister, Ellis, who weighed 1lb 15oz, were less badly affected by their prematurity but also have impaired skills.

The health authority admitted liability in relation to the pre-conceptual events involved in their parent's claim and damages will be assessed later.

The couple had wanted a brother or sister for their six-year-old son, Ryan. However, Mrs Heath had difficulty conceiving.

Mr Whitfield said Mrs Heath, now 37, was referred to a consultant at Farnborough Hospital, Kent, and prescribed drugs to induce ovulation.

In such situations, he added, obstetricians should carry out checks to ensure that if too many eggs were produced, their release was not triggered.

Unfortunately, Mrs Heath was not properly monitored and conceived quads.

Mr Whitfield said: "It is common ground between the experts that that sequence of events constituted a breach of duty to the mother.

"If properly treated, she would at some later cycle have probably conceived a singleton."

Clash of evidence

Mr Whitfield said there was a clash of evidence over what happened after the babies were conceived.

Mrs Heath claimed that she should have been warned in clear terms of the hazards of a quadruple pregnancy and been referred to a specialist who might, quite lawfully, have offered a reduction of the number of foetuses.

In that case, she would probably have been left with twins, who would have been born healthy later on in pregnancy.

The health authority denied that Mrs Heath was not offered that option.

It said that she was fully counselled and offered a referral but did not take it up.

The judge approved the settlement in relation to the children.

It was later clarified that while Kristian and Ellis would receive 66% of any damages when assessed, Matthew would receive 50% of his claim.