Mum's disbelief over parking fine during 21-hour labour
An expecting mother who endured a 21-hour labour has been issued a parking fine for leaving her car near the hospital while she was giving birth.
Jess Brooks and her partner left the vehicle outside her mother’s Newtown home on October 20 before walking to nearby Royal Prince Alfred Hospital for a scheduled induced labour.
The couple stuck a 24-hour visitors’ parking permit to the windscreen, however due to complications the labour lasted 21 hours and baby Alfie was born at 3am on October 22.
Amid the delay and exhaustion of labour the couple forgot to top up the ticket and it expired, so the 33-year-old mum was slugged a $112 parking fine.
Ms Brooks’ mother Nicolette even left a note on the windscreen explaining the expecting couple was stuck in labour with the car keys, but it was ignored.
“We didn’t get up to the ward until 8am so we had both been awake for 30 hours and it slipped our minds,” Ms Brooks told The Sunday Telegraph.
On appeal, revenue NSW said the penalty was justified, despite the family providing proof of birth.
But following media inquiries the fine has since been revoked and the department has issued an apology.
