A widower’s claim for compensation for her husband’s wrongful death in hospital has been settled in an out-of-court agreement.
John Devereux from Greenrath, County Tipperary, attended the South Tipperary General Hospital in January 2008 with a swollen toe on his right foot. Doctors diagnosed that the toe was infected due to septic arthritis, and prescribed Sodium Fusidate to treat the infection. He was sent home, and was told that his infection should clear within the next couple of weeks.
The following month, John was still experiencing pain in his foot. He returned to the hospital to seek medical attention, and further complained of pains in his arms and legs. Doctors administered further doses of Sodium Fusilate for his foot infection. John was admitted to hospital to be kept under medical observation. As John´s condition deteriorated, he was diagnosed with rhabdmoloysis – a condition in which the muscles break down – which then developed into acute renal failure.
In need of specialist attention, John was transferred to Cork University Hospital on February 21s. In spite of the efforts of medical staff, his condition failed to improve. He died in hospital on March 2nd 2008.
John´s widow – Margaret Devereux – sought legal counsel regarding her husband’s death in hospital. She made a wrongful death claim against Tipperary General Hospital on the grounds that the medication John had been prescribed when he first attended the hospital had conflicted with the treatment he was undergoing for his diabetes, and that medical staff at the clinic should have paid attention to the medicine he was already taking.
She further alleged that doctors at the hospital had failed to recognise the symptoms of rhabdmoloysis when John had returned to the hospital in a timely manner. She made a claim for compensation for severe mental distress, loss and damages.
The wrongful death claim against Tipperary General Hospital was denied by the Health Service Executive (HSE) on the grounds that the hospital had not been in breach of its duty of care. However, at the High Court in Dublin, Mrs Justice Mary Irvine heard that an out of court settlement amounting to €45,000 had been agreed between the two parties.
Approving the settlement, Mrs Justice Mary Irvine said that it had been a very tragic case, but there would have been a “huge hill” to climb if the case had had gone to trial.