Injury Compensation News

The Health Services Executive (HSE) has apologised in the High Court for surgical errors that lead to the death of Michael Devane of Killarney, County Kerry. Mr. Devane died in October 2007 after broken wrist surgery in Kerry General Hospital, Tralee, County Kerry.  Devane’s airways became blocked while under general anaesthetic and he was unable to breath, resulting in brain injuries and death nine days after the operation.
At the High Court, Ms Justice Maureen Clark heard that the family of the deceased had claimed the HSE had failed in its duty of care by proceeding with the operation when it was known that no recovery room was available and subsequently failed to monitor the post-operative effects of the anaesthetic.
In its apology, the HSE said it “wishes to apologise sincerely to Mrs Deborah Devane and the entire Devane family for the various failings in the treatment and care afforded to Michael by Kerry General Hospital in Tralee on September 27 and the days afterwards.” The HSE acknowledged that “nothing can make up to the Devane family for the tragic loss of Michael who was a devoted and dedicated father and family member.” 
Ms Justice Maureen Clark was informed that the HSE admitted liability, actions had been settled and the case was before the courts for assessment only. No details of the settlement were disclosed in open court. 

Glen Turner of Navan, County Meath has won €100,000 damages in settlement of a High Court case against the Ardboyne Hotel, Navan, County Meath for alleged assault by doormen at a nightclub at the hotel.

Mister Turner has claimed that a pre-existing epilepsy condition has “significantly worsened” since he was allegedly assaulted by two doormen. The incident occurred in September 2001.

The High Court case was taken against Quinn Hotels Ltd, with registered offices at Hotel Kilmore, Dublin Road, County Cavan, which operates the Ardboyne’s Hotel. The full details of the settlement were not revealed in court, although legal council for Mr Turner told Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O’Neill that the terms included a payment of €100,000.

Mr Justice John Quirke was quoted as having “no hesitation” in approving an award of 464,000 Euros to 14-year-old Gavin Dowling as compensation for sustaining shoulder dystocia during his birth. In a claim made through the boy´s mother, Mary Dowling of Coon West, County Kildare, it was alleged that the defendants – Dr. Ashraf Aziz and the South Eastern Health Board – were negligent in failing to provide adequate care during the during the management of Gavin´s birth in December 1995. Gavin subsequently sustained shoulder dystocia – an ailment which lead to the development of Erb´s Palsy and severe restrictions in the use of his left shoulder and upper arm.

Dr. Aziz, who was practicing at St Luke´s General Hospital, Kilkenny, at the time of the alleged incident, and the South Eastern Health Board denied all the claims, and settlement was made without admission of liability.
Gavin now has reasonable power in his left wrist and hand, but will always have a permanent shoulder disability according to his parents, who have ruled out corrective surgery due to the risks involved.

As with all child injury claims for compensation, court approval was necessary before the award could be made, and despite his difficulties, Gavin has been doing well at school and enjoys participating in sports activities.

Shauna Dowdall, then a schoolgirl aged 15, has been awarded €5,000 damages for slander and assault following an incident when she was physically restrained and denied access to the the Luas despite having a valid ticket.
Shauna Dowdall was travelling from the Fatima stop to the city centre and stepped off the tram at the Museum stop to meet a friend before continuing her journey. She was prevented from boarding the tram, causing her stress and embarrassment.
Mr Justice Deery approved a settlement offer of €5,000 damages by Veolia Transport Ireland Limited, to be held in a court account until Shauna is 18 years old.

Megan Ledden, now aged 14 years, of Glasnevin, Dublin, has been awarded €20,000 damages in the Circuit Civil Court in a case against a minibus owner following an accident where she was struck in the head by a wing mirror.
The accident occurred on a pedestrian crossing on Old Finglas Road in March 2007. Ledden was knocked unconscious as she fell back and hit her head on the ground. Ledden suffered a laceration on the right side of her forehead and bruising on her right knee. The result was permanent faint scarring under the hairline on her forehead, although fortunately it is not visible.
Mr Justice Matthew Deery approved the settlement and also awarded legal costs.

The Health Service Executive (HSE) is launching a new complaints procedure called  “Your Service, Your Say” that is aimed at obtaining both positive and negative feedback.  The HSE is presumably looking for opportunities to improve the health service. The HSE is aiming to provide a 30-day turnaround on complaints.

There was a 63 percent increase in complaints in 2009, with the total reaching 8,000.  Interestingly, despite the surge in complaints, the director of advocacy in the HSE, Mary Culliton, still believes there is under reporting of complaints due to patient’s reluctance to question medical decisions.

While the general principle of collecting feedback with the objective of improving services is an extremely positive development for the HSE, patients should be cautious regarding medical negligence and other types of hospital negligence.   The prudent approach is to speak to a solicitor before making any accusations regarding medical malpractice. It’s not just a question of defamation, but also because the victim may wish to make a compensation claim at a later date.

Mary Maughan, aged 54, of Rathfarnham, County Dublin, and her niece Leonara Myers have been awarded  €20,000 in damages each for defamation of character and false imprisonment after being stopped, detained, and searched at Nutgrove Shopping Centre, Rathfarnham.

The incident occurred on September 1st, 2007 when members of G4S Security Systems stopped Mary Maughan and Leonara Myers in full public view in the shopping centre and accused them of not paying for all the items in their shopping bag.  They were brought them back to Dunnes Stores and detained in a room until the Gardai arrived. The Gardai confirmed that they had receipts for every item in the shopping bags.

The two women said that they were stressed and embarassed by the incident.

In its defence, the security firm stated that they were carrying out Dunnes Stores policy.

In the High Court, Mr Justice John Quirke claimed that he was unhappy with the system of compensation settlements when awarding more than 5 million Euros to Caroline Bogue of Belturbet, County Cavan, following an agreement between the claimant and the joint defendants – her cousin Ciaran Bogue and the Motor Insurance Board of Ireland (MIBI).

Stating that the money would be gone within 10 years, he criticised the lack of staged payments for awards of personal injury compensation and commented that the value of the settlement represented just 60% of what the claim was worth. His comments follow the case of Caroline, who suffered severe brain damage when an uninsured car, driven by the defendants brother, crashed into a tree just outside of her home town of Belturbet in May 2003. Despite wearing a seatbelt, Caroline – who was aged just 17 at the time of the accident – was admitted to Cavan Hospital where a CT scan of her brain showed she had suffered major haemorrhaging.
Now 24, Caroline needs assistance for daily living and feeding herself due to the consequences of her accident. She also experiences difficulty sleeping, has poor short-term memory and slow speech. Caroline will need permanent care throughout the rest of her life, and Mr Justice John Quirke is concerned that the settlement is insufficient for her lifetime and that she will become reliant on the State.

As it was alleged by the defence that Caroline knew that the car in which she was travelling was uninsured, Mr Justice John Quirke accepted that there was a risk that the claimant might be awarded less if the case went to a full hearing, and was guided by Caroline´s counsel. However, he commented that he was unhappy that he had to approve “a settlement so utterly speculative and imprecise from Caroline’s point of view”. A new system, which is due to be introduced in about 18 months time, will provide for continual payments over the period of the victim’s life.

The Employment Appeals Tribunal has awarded Pamela McCann of Bellaghy, County Sligo, compensation of over €7,000  “entirely inappropriate” remarks from a male superior at Homebase House and Garden Centre in Santry, Dublin.

Ms McCann had worked for15 months at Homebase before resigning in October 2008, which the court ruled the the resigation was in fact a constructive dismissal becase of the stress caused by the store manager’s sexual comments and fear of being fired. Ms McCann spoke to another manager about the inappropriate behaviour the situation deteriored further and the store manager began ignoring her.
In another incicdent, it was claimed that the store manager’s response to Ms McCann’s pregnancy was to ask her what she “intended to do about it”, implying abortion. It was also claimed that a member of the human resources staff was “quite shocked” by the store manager’s remarks about McCann’s clothes.
The court ruled that  comments were “unwelcome and could reasonably be regarded as sexually offensive, humiliating or intimidating”.
A lesson for any employees is that Ms McCann won her case because she reported the inappropriate behaviour to another manager and discussed it with human resources staff. So the problems were “on the record”. It is also very useful to keep accurate contemporary written notes about every incident, including the exact wording of any comments and the names of any witnesses. It is also appropriate in certain circumstances to rely on CCTV in the workplace (for example, where there is inapporpriate physical contact). However, it is inappopropriate to make illicit recordings of telephone conversations or to take illicit video recordings. In the case of cyber-bullying, any emails or texts or instant messages should be kept as evidence.
The basic steps you should take are:

• Keep accurate records about all incidents
• Do not respond in any way to provocation
• Speak to a solicitor
• Report incidents to human resources or more senior management

Employers and their employees have duties by law that your solicitor will explain to you.

Caroline Bogue of Belturbet, County Cavan, has obtained a settlement of over €5 million in a High Court settlement after an uninsured car in which she was travelling as a passenger crashed into a tree, resulting in severe injuries. Caroline Bogue suffered brain damage and will require assistance for the rest of her life.
The accident occured on May 1st, 2003, when Caroline Bogue was 17 years old.
The case was taken against the car driver Declan Brogue, the car ower Ciaran Bogue, and the Motor Insurance Bureau of Ireland. Liability was denied in the case on the grounds that Caroline Bogue was aware that car was not insured and was allegedly taken without the permission of the owner. The settlement was made without admitting liability.
Mr Justice John Quirke said that the case highlighted the need for a new system of staged payments in personal injuries cases.