Under new legislation, homebirth eligibility is determined
by criteria created
by the HSE and State Claims Agency and falls into 3 categories (i) eligible (ii) un-eligible (iii) eligibility is uncertain and must be determined
by a consultant
obstetrician The Master of the Rotunda Hospital, Dr Sam Coulter - Smith,
informed the HSE last week that they were no longer prepared to approve women for maternity care under the HSE Home Birth Service, following unease within the consultant body to engage in this process.
Torts — Negligence — Medical malpractice — Causation — Trial judge finding respondent
obstetrician liable for applicant infant's injuries — Whether, under principles described in Snell v. Farrell, [1990] 2 S.C.R. 311, it is open for a trier of fact to find causation
by drawing an inference based on all the evidence led at trial, notwithstanding the fact that the defence has led some evidence to the contrary — Whether, in an
informed consent case, the causation issue is decided in accordance with the majority or the minority opinions of the House of Lords in Chester v Afshar, [2005] 1 A.C. 134.