A showjumping star with spina bifida is suing a GP for allegedly failing to tell her mother to take a crucial supplement that could have warded off the condition before getting pregnant.
Evie Toombes, 20, wants millions in damages from Dr Philip Mitchell, claiming that he did not advise her mother Caroline Toombes to take folic acid, leading to the child being 'born in a damaged state'.
Evie, from Skegness, Lincolnshire, claims that if Dr Mitchell told Caroline that she had to take the supplements to minimise the risk of spina bifida affecting her baby, she would have delayed getting pregnant until she had done so.
Caroline, 50, had gone to see Dr Mitchell in February 2001, but despite discussing folic acid during the consultation, she claims she was not told of its importance in spina bifida prevention.
Dr Mitchell, who at the time was working at the Hawthorn Medical Practice in Skegness, 'comprehensively denies' liability, claiming he gave Caroline 'reasonable advice'.
Evie, who has forged a career in showjumping and met the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in 2018 when she won the Inspiration Young Person Award at a Wellchild charity event, is now the centre of a 'wrongful conception' claim at the High Court to cover the increased cost of living a disabled life.
Evie Toombes, 20, was born suffering from spina bifida but has forged a career in showjumping, competing against both disabled and able-bodied riders
Evie, pictured with her mother Caroline Toombes. Evie claims that, had the doctor told her mother that she needed to take folic acid supplements to minimise the risk of spina bifida affecting her baby, she would have put off getting pregnant until she had done so - meaning Evie would never have been born at all
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex with Evie Toombes and her brother Rocco during the annual WellChild awards at Royal Lancaster Hotel on September 4, 2018 in London
Medics routinely advise prospective mothers of the benefits of taking folic acid supplements before conceiving and throughout the first 12 weeks of their pregnancy to ward off the risk of spina bifida.
