Background
Sara Lind Eggertsdóttir was born in 1998. It became clear soon after her birth that she was severely physically and mentally disabled.
Her parents, Eggert and Sigurmunda, took legal action against the state, claiming that hospital staff had made mistakes during the birth which had caused Sara Lind to suffer brain damage.
In 2002, Reykjavík district court partly agreed with Eggert and Sigurmunda’s claims. It ruled that mistakes were made immediately after their daughter’s birth. The court awarded compensation to Sara Lind.
The state appealed against the judgment. The case went to Iceland’s highest court, which asked the State Medico-Legal Board for an opinion. Sara Lind’s parents strongly opposed this request because several doctors who had seats on the board were associated with the hospital where their daughter was born.
The State Medico-Legal Board told the court there was no reason to criticise Sara Lind’s treatment at the hospital following her birth.
In 2004, Iceland’s highest court overturned the earlier judgment in Sara Lind’s case. It ruled that the brain damage she suffered was not caused by medical mistakes.
Sara Lind’s parents decided to take their daughter’s case to Strasbourg.