Psychological Injury Compensation

A widow, whose husband died due to the delay in treatment for a perforated bowel, has been awarded a compensation for wrongful death settlement of 500,000 Euros following the hospital´s acknowledgement that they were responsible for his loss of life.

Mr Justice John Quirke, sitting at Dublin´s High Court, heard how Barry Murphy (38) from Carrigaline in County Cork had been admitted to the South Infirmary–Victoria University Hospital in Cork on the morning of April 24th 2008 complaining of pains in his abdomen.

Barry, who was known to suffer from Crohn´s Disease, was diagnosed with a perforated bowel – a particular dangerous condition for somebody with his illness – however surgery was not scheduled until much later in the day.

Because of the delay, Barry suffered a septic shock – a condition where clots form in the small arteries, stopping the blood flow and preventing oxygen reaching the vital organs – and he was pronounced dead at 11.15pm on the same day.

Barry´s widow, Mary, made a hospital negligence claim for wrongful death, alleging that the hospital had failed to provide her husband with an adequate standard of care, failed to operate on him in a reasonable time frame and were ultimately responsible for his death.

Although the hospital initially refused to accept liability for Barry´s death, an investigation into the incident revealed that the delay in treating Barry´s perforated bowel could not be justified and that the South Infirmary–Victoria University Hospital was indeed responsible for his wrongful death.

However, due to the time that it had taken for the hospital to acknowledge their liability, Mary had suffered severe psychological damage. Diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Mary´s life changed completely following her husband´s death.

At the High Court in Dublin, Mr Justice John Quirke heard that settlement of 500,000 Euros in compensation for wrongful death had been agreed between the two parties and, after an apology from the South Infirmary–Victoria University Hospital was read to the court, the judge formally approved the settlement.

An elderly widow, who was defrauded by builders after she asked them to renovate her utility room, has been awarded compensation for emotional stress by the Circuit Civil Court in Dublin.

Kathleen O’Leary (84), from Walkinstown in Dublin had contracted the father and son building company of Cranlowe Ltd from Terenure in Dublin, to renovate her 6 feet square (1.82m²) utility room in order to bring it up to date and increase the security of the building. However, at the Circuit Civil Court in Dublin, Mr Justice Matthew Deery heard how she had been overcharged for the work that had been done and how a catalogue of errors meant that a further 14,192 Euros was required to remedy the errors the builders had left behind.

Twenty examples of professional negligence were read out to the court, including the failure to earth the electricity supply, the failure to insulate the walls of the building and the failure to provide for any under-floor ventilation. The court heard that Kathleen had been charged 23,000 Euros for the work but, after it had been reviewed by a quantity surveyor, should not have cost any more than 18,000 Euros. Furthermore, the court learned that when Kathleen had confronted Patrick Cowzer – the senior partner in the building company – she had been verbally abused.

After taking compensation claims advice, Kathleen brought a claim for professional negligence against Cranlowe Ltd, and a judgement against the builders had been awarded in November 2011 in default of defence. Mr Justice Matthew Deery heard that the case was before him for assessment of damages only and, after consideration of the upset that Kathleen had been through, ordered Cranlowe Ltd to pay Kathleen the 14,192 Euros it would cost to remedy their errors with a further 3,500 Euros compensation for emotional stress.

An artist and painter, whose hair fell out following a hair colouring treatment at a hair salon, has won her claim for bad hair colouring treatment  at the High Court.

Aileen Dunleavy (40), sued Hair Republic for negligence and breach of care of duty towards her after her hair started falling out following a treatment in the salon in March 2007.

Aileen claimed in her case that she had not been warned that the colouring treatment could have an adverse effect on her hair, and that the treatment itself was applied by a stylist who was both inexperienced and insufficiently skilled.

The judge heard at the High Court how Aileen had become socially withdrawn due to the immense sense of embarrassment she suffered as a result of what happened to her hair and had been unable to paint in a meaningful way.

Finding in favour of Ms DunLeavy, Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O´Neill awarded Aileen £38,000 in compensation and described what had happened to her as “a disaster”. The judge stated that he had no doubt that the hairdressing salon was wholly at fault for Aileen’s trauma.