Two obstetricians have been exonerated from all responsibility after action for damages was filed against them by the parents of a child suffering from cerebral palsy.
Parents John and Mary Cachia told the court that their son, Ronald, was suffering from cerebral palsy as a result of negligence on the part of Tancred Busuttil and Lucia Micallef Hawkes, the two doctors who assisted at his delivery in December 1985. They requested the court to condemn the doctors to pay damages.
But both doctors pleaded that they were not responsible for Ronald Cachia's condition and that they had done all that was possible to ensure his safe delivery.
A court appointed expert obstetrician concluded in his report filed before the court that the management of Mrs Cachia's labour had been correct and consistent with obstetric practice.
It resulted that the cerebral palsy suffered by the child was the result of the unexpected detachment of the mother's placenta from the uterus during the labour. This placental abruption could not be anticipated by the doctors.
As soon as the abruption occurred, a caesarean section was performed on Mrs Cachia but the child had suffered from oxygen deprivation which led to the cerebral palsy.
Two other court appointed expert obstetricians concurred with these conclusions.
Mr Justice Lino Farrugia Sacco said that after carefully examining the facts and evidence produced, it was not the case that either of the two doctors had acted in a manner which was not expected in their profession.
They were not responsible for the cerebral palsy and, therefore, not liable towards the Cachia family in damages.
He said that the professional liability of doctors was regulated by the Civil Code which said that a doctor had to prove that he or she acted in accordance with the standards of his or her profession.
It was up to the patient to prove that a mishap had occurred because of a doctor’s negligence.
The court experts, said the court, had found that the two doctors had followed accepted standard practice.