Injury Compensation News

A young woman, who was found to have cerebral palsy shortly after her birth, has had a compensation settlement of 1.4 million Euros approved in the High Court.

Deborah French (24) of Ballymitty, County Wexford, was diagnosed with cerebral palsy shortly after her birth in August 1987 at Wexford General Hospital. Her parents brought a claim for birth injury compensation against consultant obstetrician Harry Murphy and the South Eastern Health Board, alleging that Dr Murphy had been negligent in the hours leading up to and during Deborah´s birth.

The case was settled without admission of liability by the defendants, a course of action supported by Mr Justice John Quirke as he approved the settlement, stating that the conflicting opinions offered by medical experts may have put the family at risk of getting nothing in a trial.

The judge recommended that the funds be released to Deborah´s parents – Ann and John French – in annual increments of 100,000 Euros.

The High Court in Dublin has heard that a claim for wrongful death compensation has now been settled for an undisclosed sum by the Health Service Executive in the case of David O´Leary.

David of Ballinascarthy, County Cork, was 12 years old when he died of acute myocarditis in February 2007, after having been diagnosed with a winter vomiting bug by doctors at the Cork University Hospital.

David´s parents alleged in their action against the hospital and the Health Service Executive that David had tried to explain to doctors how ill he was and that he had difficulty breathing. They claimed that, had the doctor´s listened to what their son was trying to tell them, his condition would have been diagnosed and David would still be alive today.

The Health Service Executive denied the allegations, but had expressed in a letter to the parents its sincere regret for any deficiencies or inattention in the care of their son. The letter, which was read out to Mr Justice John Quirke at the High Court also stated that the family could take comfort from the “lessons that have been learned by all concerned with David´s care”.

Mr Justice John Quirke heard that the medical negligence claim against the Health Service Executive had been settled for an undisclosed sum without admission of liability, and had included the maximum amount payable of 33,000 Euros for the nervous shock and mental distress of the parents as a result of David´s death.

The State Claims Agency, which oversees the clinical indemnity scheme on behalf of the healthcare system, has revealed that four hospital patients died between January 2004 and December 2010 after they were administered medication to which they had a known allergy.

Figures released earlier this year also showed that 35,310 incidents involving medication were recorded in the seven year period – a number of which led to patients becoming ill and having to be admitted to hospital intensive care units.

Although 95 per cent of these did not result in any patient harm, there were 124 medical negligence claims in Ireland solely attributable to adverse or allergic reactions to a known allergen, and the State Claims Agency has urged medical practitioners to ensure patients do not have an allergy before prescribing or administering treatment.

According to studies made on behalf of the State Claims Agency and Health Service Executive, the errors are occurring due to the complex way medicines are administered – with often a dozen steps being required before a single dose of medication is delivered to a patient.

However patient lobby groups claim that despite the acknowledgement of more than 5,000 medication errors each year, patient treatment incidents are under-reported in Ireland – a view shared by “Patient Focus”, who claim that the scale of the problem has not been accepted by the medical profession.

A woman, who was transferred between hospitals while in severe and continuous pain from her ectopic pregnancy, has been awarded 75,000 Euros in personal injury compensation at the High Court.

Anne English (47) from Clonmel, County Tipperary, had attended the St Joseph’s Hospital, Clonmel, in 1996, with a suspected molar pregnancy – an unusual condition in which abnormal growth occurs instead of foetal tissue.

Anne was examined by consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, Dr. Raymond Howard, who dismissed the molar pregnancy and suggested that Anne was suffering from a condition known as acute retrocecal appendicitis. Dr Howard then organised for Anne to be transferred to Our Lady’s Hospital, Cashel, for a surgical opinion.

However, as Mr Justice Sean Ryan at the High Court heard, Dr. Howard had overlooked Anne´s true condition which was a ectopic pregnancy – one in which the embryo implants outside of the womb – and, when the pregnancy finally ruptured while Anne was at Our Lady’s Hospital, she was returned to St Joseph´s Hospital by hospital despite bleeding heavily and being in a critical condition.

On Anne´s return, Dr Howard immediately transferred her to the operating theatre, where anaesthetic measures had to be taken to resuscitate her and three litres of blood were removed from her peritoneal cavity. Despite making a physical recovery from the incident, Anne claimed she had been severely psychologically damaged by the incident and continued to suffer from it.

Finding the Dr. Howard 40 per cent liable for the injury due to his oversight, and the Health Service Executive 60 per cent liable for the injuries suffered by Anne, Mr Justice Sean Ryan announced a personal injury compensation award of 75,000 Euros should be paid to Anne stating “The decision to transfer her from the Cashel Hospital to Clonmel in this state amounted to gross negligence”.

A 23 year old woman, who sustained cerebral palsy due to the alleged mis-management of her birth, has agreed to an out-of-court settlement amounting to 2.5 million Euros.

Laura Tinney of Buncrana, County Donegal, was born on May 31st 1988 at the Letterkenny County Hospital after her mother – Eleanor – had been admitted the week previously, when cardiotocography recordings had shown a deceleration in the foetal heartbeat.

Cardiotocography recordings were discontinued on May 29th and when Laura was born it was discovered that she had suffered from oxygen deprivation, causing permanent brain damage. Laura is now confined to a wheelchair, has little use of her left hand and requires significant care.

In an action brought against the Health Service Executive (HSE) by Laura´s mother, it was alleged that had the cardiotocography recordings been maintained, it would have revealed further abnormalities in the heartbeat which would have prompted immediate delivery.

The HSE denied the claims, but at the High Court in Dublin Mr. Justice John Quirke was advised that the HSE had made an offer of settlement without admission of liability which the family was willing to accept.

Approving the 2.5 million Euros compensation settlement, the judge commented that had the case been allowed to proceed, there was a real chance that Laura would have received no damages – a scenario which the judge said would be “a dreadful outcome”.

Mr Justice John Quirke has spoken out against delays in introducing “periodic payment orders” for personal injury compensation cases in which catastrophic injuries have been sustained. Describing the current lump-sum award system as “a lottery situation”, the chairman of the Working Group on Medical Negligence has been pressing for more than a year for a periodic payment system to be introduced.

The judge was addressing lawyers representing the State and Health Service Executive when his concerns about delays in the promised legislation were made public. Mr Justice John Quirke told the assembly that the informal approval of a life-long payments system had already saved the State “tens of millions” of Euros, however he claimed that seriously ill people would be in an unsatisfactory position if the laws were not speedily introduced.

The judge brought to the lawyers attention two specific cases which are due for review in October 2011.

The first concerned Brid Courtney of Ardfert, County Kerry, who was awarded an interim personal injury settlement of 2 million Euros in compensation for alleged negligence at her birth. Now suffering the consequences of birth-acquired brain damage, Brid will need lifelong care – care which should be paid for in periodic payments if legislation is passed in time.

The second case revolved around Elaine Lennon of Balbriggin, County Dublin, who is now severely disabled due to the failure of the Castle Mill Medical Centre to properly diagnose a brain infection during her pregnancy. Elaine too was awarded in excess of 2 million Euros as an interim settlement on the basis that she would benefit from the periodic payments structure once legislation was introduced.

In his comments to the lawyers, Mr Justice John Quirke expressed that if the State failed to quickly make its intentions clear about how soon periodic payment legislation was to be introduced, judges would have no option but to revert to sanctioning lump sum payments – at great expense to the State and Health Service Executive.

A man, whose wife died from breast cancer after being misdiagnosed as all clear, has had a 110,000 Euro settlement approved in the High Court.

Ann Moriaty was just 51 years of age when initially diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2005. She underwent a mastectomy operation the following month, followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy at St. James´s Hospital in Dublin. Thereafter she attended six-monthly reviews at St. James´s, where she was considered to be doing well and in remission from the cancer.

In June 2007, Ann started to suffer from weight loss and nausea. She attended, and was admitted to, the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Ennis, County Clare, on June 11th, where a diagnosis of a urinary tract infection was made and Ann was discharged on June 15 with a course of antibiotics. A chest X-ray was taken at the time which was reviewed and considered to be normal.

Ann once again attended the Mid-Western Regional Hospital on August 11th suffering from the same symptoms and unable to eat or drink. An out-patient appointment was arranged for August 13, where she was prescribed an anti-emetic and discharged. However, an X-ray taken on August 9th at the hospital had shown, it was claimed, a local bulge opacity and vague shadowing in the mid-left zone.

Although the family were relieved that there had been no re-occurrence of the cancer, Ann´s GP was still concerned about her health. On August 14th, she was referred to the Galway emergency clinic where she was immediately admitted and a series of tests carried out. On August 16th, Ann and her family were advised that the cancer had recurred and that it was at an advanced stage.

The distressed family sought verification of the later diagnosis at St. James´s Hospital, where it was confirmed that Ann indeed had extensive breast cancer with liver, brain and lung involvement. The hospital advised the family that the extent of cancer meant Ann´s illness was terminal and, despite undergoing further radiotherapy, Ann died in April 2008.

Alleging that had his wife´s condition been diagnosed sooner, she would have survived longer with fewer symptoms, Ann´s husband – Karl Henry of Ennis, County Clare – and son Ciarán sued the Health Service Executive (HSE) for damages for personal injuries, mental distress, loss, damage and loss of dependency. Karl claimed that Ann´s death had a devastating effect on both him and their son and that the consequent HSE public investigation had also caused significant distress.

The HSE denied the claims, but Mr Justice John Quirke at the High Court heard that they were willing to make an offer of 110,000 Euros in compensation without admission of liability. Counsel for the bereaved family said that they were willing to accept the offer and, stating that this was a “very sad case”, it was approved by the judge.

A 22 year old woman, who contracted a rare disease while working in a Limerick pet shop, has been awarded what is believed to be the highest ever structured compensation settlement in a High Court personal injuries action.

Patricia Ingle from Weston, County Limerick, worked throughout 2007 and 2008 at the Petmania Pet Store in the Jetlands Retail Park, County Limerick. In August 2008, she fell ill with violent headaches and vomiting, was attended by a doctor and sent to the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Dooradoyle.

Doctors at the hospital treated Patricia and sent her home, but a few weeks later the symptoms returned and she was again sent to hospital by her GP. Within two days, Patricia´s condition had deteriorated to such an extent that she was technically voiceless, had difficulty swallowing, suffered from blurred vision and could not move.

Patricia had suffered irreversible brain damage and can now only breathe through a ventilator, has to be fed via a tube and can only communicate by using a voice-box. She is confined to a wheelchair and is an inpatient each night at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital.

Claiming that she had contracted the chlamydia psittacosis infection from a cockatiel parrot purchased by the pet store, Patricia sued Petmania and their parent company O’Keeffes of Kilkenny Limited, Springhill, County Kilkenny. She also alleged that her condition had been mismanaged by the hospital, and claimed that, had doctors recognised that she needed an examination by a neurologist, she could have been transferred to Cork Hospital earlier for specialist treatment.

Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O’Neill at the High Court heard how chlamydia psittacosis can be passed from parrots to humans through inhalation of airborne dried faeces dust, and that Patricia had never received any health and safety training throughout her employment at Petmania.

He also heard expert testimony to state that the single most significant risk of working in a pet store was the risk of contracting an infectious disease, yet because of the animals´ low value, pets at Petmania were never screened or treated against the potentially fatal diseases.

In respect of the action against the Health Service Executive (HSE), the court heard that doctors at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital had watched Patricia´s condition deteriorate for 58 hours before transferring her to Cork Hospital, even though they were aware that she worked in a pet shop due to a previous hospital attendance when she was bitten by a rat.

It was claimed that had there been a proper recognition of her symptoms, some, if not all of her current condition would have been avoided.

Although the case was anticipated to last for several weeks, protracted talks on the fourth day of court proceedings resulted in the HSE agreeing to settle the claim, and pursuing Patricia´s claims against the other defendants.

The settlement package consists of 3 million Euros to be paid to Patricia immediately in respect of her injuries, with further lifetime payments to be considered in two years time once new legislation is in place to facilitate structured payments.

The health Service Executive have estimated that it currently costs around 500,000 Euros to provide Patricia with the treatment she needs, so the total compensation package is likely to exceed the record High Court award of 7.5 million Euros paid to a child who sustained cerebral palsy at birth.

The tragic tale of Jade Keane hit the national headlines in February this year, when Mr. Justice Iarfhlaith O’Neill awarded Jade (10) a settlement package of 7 million Euros for the devastating and permanent injuries of post natal hydrocephalus.
The judge had found that gross medical negligence by the Health Service Executive (HSE), the Holles Street National Maternity Hospital and Jade´s GP – Dr Dermot Stones of Ballybrack, County Dublin – had led to her developing water on the brain in the weeks and months after her birth.
An immediate payment of 4.75 million Euros was to be paid as an interim settlement by the HSE and the hospital – both of whom admitted that mistakes had been made, but denied that they amounted to actionable negligence – and, before Mr Justice Seán Ryan at the High Court, they sought indemnity or contribution from Dr Stones in relation to the damages.
After reviewing the case, the judge ruled that there was nothing to distinguish the blameworthiness of all three defendants – stating that they were equally “grossly inept” – and ruled that each should pay one third of the damages awarded by Mr. Justice Iarfhlaith O’Neill in February.

A member of a High Court working group, commissioned to investigate provision for the victims of catastrophic injury and chaired by Mr Justice John Quirke, has announced that the working group is considering the introduction of pre-action protocols to reduce the financial burden to the State of clinical negligence compensation claims.
Mr Michael Boylan was speaking in Dublin at a conference on catastrophic birth and child injuries organised by the charity “Action Against Medical Accidents”. He said that a legal “duty of candour” should be introduced to require medical practitioners to advise a patient as soon as they are aware that a clinical error as occurred.
Quoting from a Health Service Executive report, Mr Boylan stated that there was evidence to suggest that patients often forgave the clinical error when it is disclosed promptly, fully and compassionately, and not only would this action reduce the trauma and distress of patients and their families upon discovery, but also reduce the amount of legal costs arising from contested medical negligence actions.
The first proposal from the working group was contained in a report published in November 2010. The report recommended that people who sustain catastrophic injuries would benefit more from periodic compensation payments than one lump sum. Mr Boylan hoped that the report would be acted upon and legislation introduced, although he acknowledged that the overall cost to the State could be greater and feared that this might prevent it from being adopted into law.