December 1, 2021 7.00 pm This story is over 27 months old

Lincolnshire para-showjumper wins court case against mum’s GP after pre-pregnancy negligence

She is now entitled to millions of pounds to support her condition
Evie Toombes (left), sued the GP of her mum Caroline (right) in a landmark "wrong conception charge". | Photo: Instagram
By Local Democracy Reporter

A 20-year-old showjumper from Skegness born with a spinal condition has won a landmark legal case against her mother’s GP, after claiming she should never have been born due to a lack of advice from the doctor.

Evie Toombes, 20, was born with a condition known as spina bifida, which sees a baby’s spine and spinal cord fail to develop in the womb, causing a gap in the skeleton.

Her condition has resulted in Evie, from Skegness, sometimes having to be connected to tubes 24-hours-a-day, and it prompted her to sue Dr Philip Mitchell, her mum’s GP.

Evie Toombes, 20, suffers from spina bifida. | Photo: Instagram

Despite having spina bifida, Evie has managed to compete at a high level as a show jumper, both in disabled and able-bodied fields.

The lawsuit stated that Dr Mitchell failed to correctly advise Evie’s mother Caroline, 50, to take vital supplements before getting pregnant with Evie, something which the GP categorically denied throughout.

Evie claimed that had the doctor told Caroline she needed to take medication to minimise the risk of spina bifida affecting her child, it would have put her off getting pregnant at all.

This prompted Evie to suggest that she should never have been born in the first place, as if her mother had taken the supplements she would have had a child that is genetically different to Evie.

Despite the hardship, Evie is a keen showjumper, competing at a high level against both disabled and able-bodied riders. | Photo: Instagram

A landmark High Court ruling in London on Wednesday, December 1, backed Evie’s case and gave her the right to a large compensation payout worth millions of pounds.

The financial aid Evie is entitled to could now allow her to be properly supported for the rest of her life, thanks to winning this legal battle.

During the trial, Evie’s mother Caroline said she’d gone to see Dr Mitchell in February 2001, at Hawthorn Medical Practice in Skegness, to discuss plans to have her first baby.

Mrs Toombes insisted that despite discussions of supplements, she was never advised by Dr Mitchell that they could prevent spina bifida in a baby.