A woman who had to have both legs amputated due to alleged medical negligence has settled her failure to diagnose compensation claim against the doctor she accused of malpractice.
Catherine Blake (62) of Clonmel, County Tipperary, had alleged negligence and a breach in the doctor´s duty of care following an accident she had been involved in 1998. Two crates she had been seated on tipped over and Catherine had sustained injuries to her head and back.
She had attended Dr Gerard Sullivan at the Mary Street Medical Centre in Clonmel, County Tipperary in July 2000 complaining of pains in her legs and difficulty walking. It was claimed in Catherine´s compensation claim for late diagnosis that Dr Sullivan had ignored her complaints of symptoms which might have led the doctor to diagnose deep-vein thrombosis.
In September 2000, Dr Sullivan diagnosed that Catherine was suffering from thrombophlebitis, a vein inflammation due to a blood clot, but it was alleged in the failure to diagnose compensation claim that he failed to follow up his diagnosis with adequate treatment and continued to rule out the possibility of deep vein thrombosis. Catherine´s condition continued to deteriorate and she eventually had to have both legs amputated – allegedly due to Dr Sullivan´s failure to diagnose.
Dr Sullivan denied the claims but shortly before the trial was due to begin the High Court in Dublin heard that a settlement had been reached without admission of liability. No details were provided to the court about how much compensation Catherine was to receive.