Evie Toombes: 20-yr-old with birth defect in spine sues mom's doctor for millions
A woman with spina bifida has decided to sue her mother's doctor for millions of dollars. She said that a lot of money went into health care and other damages created due to her birth and also claims that she should have never been born. Spina bifida is a birth defect in which a developing baby's spinal cord fails to develop properly.
Evie Toombes, 20, is an English equestrian show jumper from Lincolnshire. Toombes is suing the former doctor of her mother, general practitioner Dr Philip Mitchell, claiming that he gave 'wrongful conception' advice and failed to tell her mother to consume folic acid supplements before getting pregnant which has resulted in her birth defect, per The Telegraph.
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Born in November 2001, Toombes was diagnosed with lipomyelomeningocele, which is a neural tube defect in the spinal cord. She shared that her bones did not develop properly along her spinal cord resulting in a permanent disability. She has claimed that her mother would have decided not to have her if the doctor would have told her that she needed folic acid supplements to reduce the chances of the defect affecting her baby.
Toombes' attorney Susan Rodway told the UK High Court that Toombes was suing the practitioner for 'having been born in a damaged state'. She also added that she wants to recover all the money that is required to live with her condition. In his defense, the doctor has denied any liability and said that he gave 'reasonable advice' to Toombes' mother.
Mitchell's attorney argued that it is a common practice to advise prospective parents to take 400 mg of folic acid. However, it is only required if the mother does not have a healthy diet as typically, a good diet helps in maintaining folic acid levels and supplements are not required. Toombes' mother said, "He told me it was not necessary", when she visited him in February 2001. She added, "Further, I was advised that if I had a good diet previously, I would not have to take folic acid."
Rodway added, "It is her evidence she would have read up on it and would not have attempted to become pregnant until she was satisfied that she has protected herself as much as possible."
Evie Toombes has very limited flexibility and mobility in her body but she hopes to compete in the Paralympics. While she is hooked to tubes for 24-hours a day sometimes, she has big dreams. To worsen her condition, she will be bound to a wheelchair as she will grow old. She also suffers from bowel and bladder issues because of her condition.