A York family are suing the city's health bosses for the brain damage they say their handicapped son suffered at birth.

Timothy Milner, 19, has cerebral palsy and a mental age of between five and ten years, the High Court in Leeds heard.

The family's QC, Ronald Walker, claimed his condition was caused by the "irreversible brain damage" he suffered when starved of oxygen during his birth at Fulford Maternity Hospital, which has since closed.

He needed immediate resuscitation and did not breathe normally until he was several minutes old.

His mother, Barbara, of Hull Road, York, told the court how he had facial and arm palsy from the moment he was born and never developed normally.

His father, Ian, now of Scarborough, said: "We didn't know what was normal and what wasn't normal. He was our first child. We trusted what we were told. Knowing Tim now and looking at the pictures now of what he was like then, it was obvious the problems were there."

Mr Walker said Timothy was not diagnosed as having cerebral palsy until he was three and the health authority's medical expert did not accept the diagnosis until last year.

The Milner family is claiming York Health Authority was negligent and breached its duty to them. The authority disputes the claims.

Opening the case, Mr Walker described how Mrs Milner was admitted to the hospital for an induced labour on May 11, 1981, because she appeared to be 15 days overdue.

There were no signs at any stage during the pregnancy that the baby had problems and no history of cerebral palsy in the family.

Two days later, after inducement, Timothy was born by forceps delivery. Immediately before birth and a few hours earlier, his heartbeat had dropped, indicating he may been having medical difficulties.

Mr Milner gave evidence that a few hours before the birth, staff told him his wife was having problems in labour because a student nurse had inadvertently given her too much of a drug.

But Irene Colton, the midwife on duty at the time, gave evidence that this could not have happened, though she could not explain why medical records show a high dosage was given and then reduced.

Mr Walker said the condition of the baby and mother immediately prior to birth indicated forceps should not have been used and the proper course was for doctors to do an emergency Caesarean section in the hospital's one operating theatre.

Doctors were finishing delivering twins there as consultant Christine Tuck examined Mrs Milner, but that operation had finished 20 minutes before Timothy was born.

A doctor told the court she did not want to waste time and had planned to carry out a Caesarean if the forceps delivery did not work.

"I just had an impression that I was pleased I had been able to deliver the baby quite quickly and without trouble," said the doctor. "That is just an impression."

It would have taken about 30 minutes to prepare the mother for the operation.

The delivery had been no different than any others of a similar nature she had carried out since and before.

Earlier Mr Walker had suggested that the fact that she was due to carry out a non-urgent operation on another mother the same morning may have influenced her decision.

The doctor said that operation was scheduled to take place "when convenient."

The hearing continues.

Updated: 11:33 Wednesday, February 14, 2001