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“It tells me that hospitals can and will do everything in their power to avoid paying compensation,” said Hilik Elmaliah, the Butlers’ lawyer. “It tells us we need to be very, very careful and vigilant when a poor outcome results from a medical treatment. We can’t rely on what was said by a health-care provider … to find out what really happened.”

The brain damage that Sarah, a twin who is now 10, suffered at birth in 2007 has left her with disabilities ranging from cerebral palsy and poor co-ordination to cognitive deficits and speech impairment, Justice John McCarthy noted in his ruling last week.

McCarthy ordered the hospital to pay $5.2 million in damages, covering loss of future income, personal support she will need for the rest of her life and other issues.

Royal Victoria said this week that privacy legislation bars it from commenting on the Butler case.

But Rachel Kean, the hospital’s chief quality and privacy officer, said in a statement the facility does carry out a comprehensive quality review when an “incident” occurs, developing action plans and learning from the experience.

“RVH sincerely and unreservedly regrets the failings surrounding Sarah’s birth,” Kean added. “We recognize how difficult this has been for the Butler family and the challenges they face. The birth of a child is a joyous experience and we hope Sarah and her family receive the support they need.”

The hospital said it could not indicate whether the nurses who wrote false information on the baby’s chart, obscuring actions that caused the brain damage, have faced any kind of sanction internally.