Two families have given heartbreaking details of how a gas fitter changed their lives forever after their babies were mistakenly administered with nitrous oxide at a Sydney hospital.
Christopher Laurie Turner apologised when he appeared in Sydney's Downing Centre District Court on Friday over the bungled gas installation at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital, which resulted in the death of a newborn and left another with lifelong brain injuries.
The former contractor now faces the possibility of up to 25 years behind bars over the 2015 bungle.
The mistake led to the death of a baby boy born just one hour before he was fatally administered nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas, a year later in July 2016.
A month earlier, a baby girl administered with the gas during an emergency resuscitation survived but was left with a lifelong disability which required around-the-clock care.
Turner has been charged with one count each of manslaughter and causing grievous bodily harm by omission and had initially pleaded not guilty to both.
It wasn't until October that he changed his initial pleas to guilty as the date of his trial drew near.
Victim impact statements from the parents of both babies were read out in court on Friday.
Christopher Laurie Turner faces up to 25 years in prison over the death of a newborn and the permanent injury of another
Danial Khan's daughter suffered nitrous oxide poisoning as a critically-ill newborn but survived and now lives with permanent brain damage
'The day she was born should have been the happiest moment of our lives but has become a lifelong tragedy,' the girl's father Danial Khan told the court.
'There is not a single day that passes where I am not confronted with what happened - I carry the trauma of that day constantly.
'She lives every day with injuries she did nothing to deserve.'
His daughter's condition has left her susceptible to seizures as a result of her severe and permanent brain damage. She will always rely on others for survival and dignity.
'This is not a temporary mistake with temporary consequences,' Mr Khan said.
'The consequences for her are ongoing and permanent - the impact of what occurred will continue long after this court proceeding has ended.
The baby boy would have recently turned nine had he survived.
His mother wrote that his death impacted the entire family, including her other children.
Danial Khan told the court that his young daughter now lives with a permanent injury which she does not deserve
'I can still picture the day in my head. I was excited to take my baby home,' his mother wrote.
'To go home empty-handed is something that still shocks me to this day.
'Nothing will change for me, nothing is going to bring my boy back.'
Turner had previously pleaded guilty to failing in his duty under the Work Health and Safety Act and was fined $100,000 in 2020.
He was arrested and charged in August 2022 following a coronial inquest into the baby boy's death.
The court heard that Turner had been contracted by BOC Limited to connect neonatal oxygen lines to the birthing suites at the hospital.
But due to an error made in 1996, the nitrous oxide gas pipeline lines in the roof had been mislabelled as oxygen, which went unnoticed for years.
The court heard that Turner had been obligated to carry out tests to make sure everything was correct after he finished the job - which he never did.
This is despite filling out forms to certify that he had done so.
Prosecutor Rossi Kotsis urged the court to sentence Turner to prison and said that it was only appropriate, given what he had caused to happen as a result of his negligence.
The follow-up tests which Turner never did would have only taken a couple of minutes to complete, Mr Kotsis told the court.
Turner had been contracted by BOC Limited to connect neonatal oxygen lines to birthing suites at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital in 2015
Judge Nicole Noman agreed that these tests 'could have been done with very little effort and very little time'.
Turner's barrister, Angela Cook, said her client had shown genuine remorse for what had happened and that he has been sorry since the tragedies in 2016.
He will be sentenced on February 26.
Supported by his family, Turner remained silent and made no comment when confronted by reporters outside court.
