The High Court was told that an elderly man suffered an unprovoked assault while waiting for several hours with his ill wife in a hospital emergency department, reports RTE.
The attack, which left the couple’s lives “irretrievably changed,” resulted in a settlement of €450,000.
According to the court, they had been waiting in the emergency department for ten hours when the man was assaulted by a patient who had reportedly been left unsupervised after receiving treatment in isolation, reports RTE.
Senior Counsel David Kennedy described the case as both unfortunate and distressing, noting that the attack was witnessed by the man’s wife as she lay on a hospital trolley.
Joseph and Patricia Hansard had arrived at Tallaght University Hospital in Dublin on 12 March 2022 after Mrs. Hansard suffered a fall at home, reports RTE.
By 7pm, after nearly ten hours at the hospital, Mr. Hansard was struck on the head with a metal object and violently knocked to the ground by a man who had allegedly left an isolation area and was wandering the unit unsupervised.
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He lost consciousness and sustained head lacerations. His condition deteriorated following the attack, and he was later diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
The court heard that both he and his wife are now living in a nursing home, reports RTE.
The incident, which was recorded on CCTV, came to an end when nursing staff intervened.
Mr. Hansard, 82, and his 87-year-old wife took legal action against Tallaght Hospital, arguing that the facility had failed to protect him from harm while in the emergency department.
The hospital denied liability, but the case was settled for €450,000 without admission of fault, reports RTE.
Approving the settlement, Mr. Justice Paul Coffey called it “a very sad and distressing case,” stating that it had completely disrupted the couple’s lives.
The Hansard family condemned the incident as entirely preventable and urged hospitals to reassess and strengthen their security measures. They expressed disappointment in Tallaght Hospital, saying their parents had been “failed” by the institution, reports RTE.
Describing Joseph and Patricia as “a golden couple” married for 58 years, the family said the attack had left their world “shattered.”
They explained that Mr. Hansard suffered severe cognitive decline and memory loss, while Ms. Hansard’s Parkinson’s disease worsened, leading to a dementia diagnosis.
Although they initially attempted to care for their parents at home, the family eventually had to move them into a nursing home, as they could no longer live independently, reports RTE.
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