A woman who filed a wrongful conception lawsuit against her mother’s doctor has reportedly won the right to compensation in the case.
The London case, which first received news attention last year, saw 20-year-old Evie Toombes—a para-equestrian show jumper with chronic illness and impaired mobility—seeking damages in connection with the doctor’s alleged failure to give adequate advice and recommend folic acid doses to her mother. In short, per a BBC News report from December 2020, Toombes argued that her mother would have delayed conception if she had been given the correct advice.
Per the Telegraph, she would have had a “normal, healthy” baby if she had delayed having a child.
The doctor, identified in the BBC report as Dr. Philip Mitchell, disputed these allegations. And in a post shared Wednesday, the law firm Clyde & Co (who represented the doctor) noted that the liability trial focused on determining three key components: the advice the doctor had given and whether such advice was negligent, whether Toombes’ mother was pregnant at the time of the consultation, and whether Toombes’ mother would have delayed conception. Per the firm, the judge ruled in favor of Toombes on each of those issues.
Toombes, who has a form of spina bifida and also feeds via nasogastric tube, has now—according to tabloid reports from the Sun and elsewhere—won the right to potentially millions in damages. One such tabloid report, seen here, noted that the damages amount had not yet been determined but that it would be used to cover the expenses related to her continued medical needs.
