Dublin’s Rotunda Hospital Issues Apology and Agrees to €3.7m Interim Payout for Child’s Birth-Related Injuries

The High Court has heard that the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin has issued an apology and agreed to an interim settlement of €3.7 million in relation to the “deficiencies and failures” in care surrounding the birth of a boy over a decade ago.

The court was told that Cian O’Connor, from Glasnevin, Dublin, suffers from a learning disability and other motor coordination problems due to injuries allegedly sustained during his birth in 2008.

Now aged 13, he has reached a settlement in his legal action against the Dublin hospital for an interim sum of €3.7 million, which will provide for his care until 2032.

A letter from the hospital’s management and staff was read aloud in court, expressing an apology for the “deficiencies and failures in care provided to Cian.”

The letter continued: “We fully appreciate the difficulties this has caused for your family, and the challenges you and your family have had to overcome as a consequence of these deficiencies and failures.”

The boy’s mother, Deirdre O’Connor, told the court that, while she welcomed the apology, she was “disappointed it had taken such a prolonged period to receive it.”