The mother of a teenager badly disabled at birth has lost her nine-year legal battle for compensation despite a judge finding NHS midwives were negligent in her care.
The woman - who cannot be named for legal reasons - contested what is believed to be one of Scotland's longest civil proofs in her bid to secure millions of pounds for her son's long-term care.
However, Lord Brailsford at the Court of Session has now ruled that while her midwives were negligent, that she could not show that this caused her son's disability.
The woman's now 18-year-old son was born at Glasgow's Queen Mother's Hospital in October 1996 with severe cerebral palsy, leaving him with "significant learning difficulties and motor disabilities".
He is understood to require round-the-clock care.
His mother first sued NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde back in 2006, when her son was just 10. Her case finally called to the Court of Session for a proof - a civil trial - in September 2013.
Then, for fully 51 days over nine months, 30 experts and other witnesses, including the mother and her husband, gave astonishingly detailed evidence.
The case, which has cost what one insider called a "small fortune", was so complicated that Lord Brailsford took another year - 12 months - to complete his written judgment.
Lawyers for the health board tried to suggest the mother - described as being from "a high-achieving family" and "creatively talented" - was "confabulating", imaging details to make up for lost memory. Lord Brailsford rejected this, describing her as a credible witness.
The mother said mistakes by her midwives meant she was not admitted to hospital early enough to stop her baby developing cerebral palsy. Lord Brailsford acknowledged the mistakes, but not their consequences.
He concluded: "I am satisfied that the midwives employed by the defenders [the NHS] and blamed by the pursuer [the mother] in this action were negligent."
But he added: "I am of opinion that there is no negligent act for which the defenders are responsible which caused any delay in the delivery."
The woman's solicitor, Darren Deery of Drummond Miller, said: “It is particularly hard for clients when the court finds that there has been negligence, so somebody got something wrong, but they still don’t get compensation in a multi-million-pound claim.
Speaking generally, Mr Deery said: "Any family with a child or adult with cerebral palsy, would benefit from compensation to assist with care needs.
"In all of these cases, it it usually not about the here and now; it is about what happens in the future when the parents are no longer here and you have a child or adult with care costing potentially hundreds of thousands of pounds per year.
"I understand that this is one of the longest civil running proofs in Scotland ever. "
Both the mother and the NHS are considering Lord Brailsford's opinion. A spokesman for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: "We have only just received the judgement and it would be inappropriate for us to comment at this stage."
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