By Rick Haliechuk Toronto Star

A 6-year old Toronto boy, left brain-damaged and blind after a traumatic birth, will receive about $2 million in compensation from the doctor who delivered him.

And if Shane Lister of Tennis Crescent, in the Broadview-Danforth area, lives a full life, the amount he receives could be as much as*$43*million,*under a settlement approved by the Supreme Court of Ontario yesterday.

Judy Lister Paloheimo, the boy's mother, sued her obstetrician Dr. Ivan Goldman for damages following Shane's birth at Mount Sinai Hospital in June, 1979.

Shane, who was about six weeks premature, was born after a difficult forceps delivery, with his umbilical cord wrapped twice around his neck. He has cerebral palsy and will need care for the rest of his life.

Although the College of Physicians and Surgeons reported in 1980 that the medical care provided by Goldman was acceptable, Paloheimo sued Goldman, alleging that because of his negligence, the oxygen flow to the baby's brain was cut off, causing the permanent injuries.

Pleased with result

Paloheimo, 32, said yesterday she was relieved and pleased at the judgment and said the money would mean Shane wouldn't have to be put into an institution.

"It's really our belief he has a right to be in the community with his family," she said in an interview in her home.

"He's quite a happy little guy in general," his mother said. "But he can't do anything by himself."

Goldman, like most Canadian doctors, is covered for damages by the Canadian Medical Protective Association, which will pay the cost of this settlement.

"It's difficult to imagine the injuries this child sustained as a result of being deprived of oxygen," said Paloheimo's lawyer, Richard Sommers.

Sommers said the trial was to have begun yesterday but last week the association made an offer to settle. An agreement was reached last Friday and approved by Mr. Justice Richard Holland of the Supreme Court yesterday.

John Finlay, counsel for Goldman, stressed that the settlement does not mean there was negligence by the doctor.

Led to breakup

The difficulties in caring for Shane led to the breakup of Paloheimo's marriage with her first husband, Shane's father.

She has since married Rolf Paloheimo, a construction manager, and they have a son, Erik, 2.

"I definitely need help in the home to care for Shane," she said.

Shane goes to the Beverley St. school for developmentally handicapped children five days a week.

Under the terms of the settlement, a cash award to Shane of just under $2 million will be invested in interest-earning annuities.

Beginning May 1, Shane's mother will receive about $55,000 for her son's care per year, until he reaches 16.

At that time, the yearly amount will increase to about $112,000, to $140,000 at age 18, and to $479,000 when Shane turns 34, Sommers said.

The amounts increase during Shane's adulthood to take into account the loss of money he would have earned while working, Sommers said.

The payout also includes Paloheimo's legal costs of $115,000 and $15,000 for Erik, payable when he turns 18.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons, which investigated Paloheimo's complaint, concluded that the delivery was accomplished with a very hard pull on the forceps and was considered a difficult one.

"The decision to shorten the second stage (of labor) by delivering the baby with forceps under epidural anesthesia was correct," the college concluded in its report.

Although the report said some obstetricians would have opted for a Caesarean delivery, it added that this was a clinical decision.

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