A showjumper who sued her mum's GP has bagged millions in damages after successfully arguing that she should never even have been born.
Evie Toombes, 20, took Dr Philip Mitchell to court after he failed to tell her mum to take supplements before she fell pregnant.
She brought a case of "wrongful conception", arguing that if the doctor had told mum Caroline she should take folic acid to prevent against spina bifida she would have put off getting pregnant.
Even though that would have meant Evie wasn't born, The Sun now reports that she is entitled a massive compensation payout after the case was ruled on at London's High Court today.
After Judge Rosalind Coe QC ruled in her favour, Evie's lawyers said that the unspecified amount was likely to be in the millions because it will have to cover costs of extensive care for the rest of her life.
A key part of the case was that the baby had been born "in a damaged state" and the judge said that had Caroline, from Skegness, been aware of the need to take folic acid she instead would have had a healthy baby.
Caroline, 50, and her partner had been refraining from having sex until a vital consultation with the doctor because they were so worried about complications.
But after the meeting, the proceeded to conception. The couple said in the court case last month that they even brought up folic acid at the consultation, but were not told to take it.
Instead, Dr Mitchell allegedly told them to go home and "have lots of sex" while also outlining that folic acid was needed.
"He told me it was not necessary," she said. "I was advised that if I had a good diet previously, I would not have to take folic acid."
Evie was diagnosed with a lipomylomeningocoele (LMM), which is defect in the spine that can lead to permanent disability, after her birth in 2001.
She already has very limited mobility and will have to use a wheelchair more and more frequently as she ages. The condition also brings bowel and bladder problems.
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Lawyer Michael De Navarro QC, representing Dr Mitchell, argued against liability by suggesting that Caroline may have been pregnant when he held the consultation.
He also claimed that Dr Mitchell's usual policy was to tell people that 400 micrograms of folic acid should be taken by prospective parents while they were preparing to be pregnant and throughout the first trimester.
He also said that although the doctor might have told her that folic acid is not as important if you have a good diet, he would not have told her it wasn't necessary.
But the judge ruled that Mrs Toombes was not expecting a baby when she had the consultation with Dr Mitchell and also said she was not advised about the relationship between folic acid and the prevention of spina bifida.
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