The High Court has ruled that a medical negligence case concerning the treatment of a baby born at 24 weeks' gestation in Cork may proceed only in relation to alleged negligence connected with serious damage to his left foot.
Mr Justice Peter Charleton delivered the ruling in Cork on 4 March 2026 in proceedings brought by the anonymised plaintiff, A, through his mother and next friend, AA, against the HSE and Cork University Maternity Hospital.
A was born at Erinville Hospital on 12 January 2003. The substantive case alleges that a line inserted into his leg during neonatal treatment was not removed sufficiently quickly as the limb deteriorated, ultimately contributing to the loss of his forefoot, heel and toes.
A previous High Court judgment by Ms Justice Hyland in November 2024 had already ruled that this aspect of the negligence case could continue but excluded wider claims that lacked adequate supporting expert evidence.
The latest application concerned whether a further report from Dr Fogarasi, dated August 2025, contained genuinely new material capable of reopening those issues. The report discussed neonatal sepsis, hypoxia, ventilation, developmental difficulties and psychological conditions.
Mr Justice Charleton found that it did not provide the necessary new factual or expert basis. He characterised much of the material as a reassessment of information already considered in the earlier ruling rather than newly discovered evidence supporting a sufficiently particularised negligence claim.
The court therefore held that allegations concerning hypoxia, developmental delay, autism and broader psychological or later HSE treatment issues could not be added back into the proceedings. Psychological consequences flowing directly from the surviving physical injury may still form part of damages if proved.
The court approved an amended endorsement of claim confined essentially to the alleged leg and foot injury and its consequences. Costs of the pre-trial motion were ordered to be costs in the cause.