Para-showjumper seeks damages from GP over folic acid doses

Evie Toombes and her brother met the Duke and Duchess of Sussex at the 2018 WellChild Awards

A para-showjumper with a form of spina bifida is seeking damages from a GP over claims he failed to recommend doses of folic acid to her mother.

Evie Toombes, 19, of Skegness, Lincolnshire, has very limited mobility as a result of her condition.

She alleges Dr Philip Mitchell negligently failed to advise her mother to increase her intake of folic acid.

At a High Court hearing on Monday, a judge ruled Ms Toombes has a "lawful claim for damages".

Women are advised to take 400 micrograms of folic acid a day for at least a month before conception and up to the 12th week of pregnancy.

But women are not always aware they should take the supplement, or forget to, and a lack of folic acid increases the risk of an unborn child developing spina bifida.

Ms Toombes claims her mother, Caroline Toombes, would have started taking the supplement, delayed conception and had a "genetically different" child without disabilities if it were not for the doctor's alleged negligence, the court heard.

Dr Mitchell, who worked at the Hawthorn Medical Practice in Skegness at the time, has "comprehensively disputed" the allegations, which were heard by Mrs Justice Lambert.

Mrs Lambert concluded the case could go ahead, allowing the showjumper to bring her claim against the doctor.