Girl harmed by alcohol in womb wins payout
A girl has been awarded £500,000 (NZ$973,940) in criminal injuries compensation for severe brain damage suffered in the womb as a result of her mother drinking.
Molly, 16, from the northwest of England, was considered a victim of a crime because her mother persisted in heavy drinking despite health workers and police warning her about the risks to her unborn child.
Molly was diagnosed with foetal alcohol syndrome when she was 4.
News of the payout, made by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority last September, comes ahead of a test case at the Court of Appeal to overturn a ban on such payments. Under changes introduced in November 2012, after Molly lodged her claim, the authority no longer considers
that foetuses damaged in the womb as a result of the mother's excessive alcohol intake are victims of violent crime and are therefore no longer eligible for compensation.
However, a council is challenging the policy arguing that a 6-year-old girl with FAS is entitled to compensation for the brain damage caused by her pregnant mother's drinking. It believes the mother criminally ''poisoned'' her unborn child because she too was warned of the potential
dangers of her actions.
If successful, the case could have far-reaching implications. Lawyers acting for the council are representing 80 children in Britain who suffered physical and mental damage as a result of their mothers' heavy drinking.
They will argue that payouts to Molly and previously a small number of other children have in effect set a legal precedent.
Neil Sugarman, a managing partner at GLP solicitors in Greater Manchester who is acting in the case, said: ''It is very unfair that some children should have an award, which they very much merit and need, and others won't get it. I think from a lay person's perspective or to a victim of this syndrome, it just seems that they [CICA] accepted that drinking alcohol to excess, knowing it will damage your baby, is a crime for the purposes of the scheme and all of a sudden it isn't.''