A PARTIALLY blind woman made legal history yesterday after winning compensation for giving birth to a healthy baby after she was sterilised.

In a unique test case, Karina Rees, 29, of Darlington, successfully challenged the long-held legal principle that healthy children are always "a blessing" and parents cannot be compensated for the costs of bringing them up - even if the birth resulted from medical negligence.

The decision by the Appeal Court in London means Miss Rees will now be entitled to damages, which will almost certainly be a six figure sum.

Her solicitor, Annabel Beattie, said: "This will mean that my client, who is disabled, will now be able to continue with her claim for the extra costs of bringing up her son."

Miss Rees was born with a genetic disorder, Retinitis Pigmentosa. She is blind in her left eye and has only one sixth of normal vision in her right.

Her counsel told the Appeal Court she wanted to be sterilised because she doubted her ability to cope with a baby.

The sterilisation was carried out at Darlington Memorial Hospital in July 1995, but the following year, she discovered she was pregnant.

The hospital admitted the sterilisation was negligently performed but disputed the level of compensation.

In May last year, Judge Stuart Brown, sitting at Newcastle, decided "reluctantly" that he had to refuse to award Miss Rees a penny to cover the cost of bringing up her son. It meant compensation would be limited to a modest sum.

In previous cases, damages had been awarded for the "wrongful birth" of handicapped children to cover the extra costs of caring for them because of their disabilities.

But until yesterday's judgement, the law had stuck to the principle that healthy children were a blessing.

Miss Rees's counsel argued that she faced many extra child care costs because of her handicap.

South Durham Health Care NHS Trust, which runs Darlington Hospital, is considering whether to appeal to the House of Lords.