Nora Hayes of Midleton, County Cork, has secured a settlement of €250,000 from the Bon Secours Hospital, Cork, following the death of her husband Patrick Hayes due to a kidney operation in November 2004.
The medical negligence claim was denied and the settlement was without admission of liability by the hospital.
Patrick Hayes was in good health prior to an operation to remove a kidney. A slight ooze from the spleen was noticed during the operation and surgical gauze was applied. Hayes was admitted to the intensive care unit after the operation and subsequently suffered a massive haemorrhage and died following attempts to resuscitate him. It was alleged that the nursing staff were aware that Patrick Hayes was having difficulty but failed to react.
A postmortem found a blood clot surrounding the spleen and more than two litres of blood in the peritoneal cavity.