The High Court has approved a €2 million settlement in the case of a woman who fell while alone in a toilet cubicle, a day and a half after undergoing surgery to remove a tumour from the base of her skull, reports RTE.
The case against Beaumont Hospital in Dublin was disputed, and the settlement was reached without an admission of liability.
Jacinta Flood had been managing epilepsy with medication for many years. However, in May 2017, scans revealed that the 58-year-old from Letterkenny, Co Donegal, had a tumour at the base of her skull.
Her condition was monitored for two years, but when the tumour grew, doctors decided she needed surgery, reports RTE.
On 22 May 2019, just a day and a half after the operation, she suffered a fall while unsupervised in a toilet cubicle.
The court heard that there was no criticism of the nursing care she received and that two nurses were stationed outside. However, it was alleged that she should not have been left alone in the cubicle due to her high risk of falling, reports RTE.
Following the fall, Ms. Flood’s condition deteriorated severely and suddenly. She experienced an increase in seizures and had to undergo emergency surgery to remove a blood clot from her brain.
She spent an extended period in intensive care. Ms. Flood never fully recovered and was left with significant cognitive impairment.
She is now unable to work again and requires permanent care, reports RTE.
Senior Counsel John Healy informed the High Court that since the incident, Ms. Flood has struggled with mobility and remains at a constant risk of falling.
Her memory and concentration are severely impaired, and she cannot retain information. She also requires continuous supervision and has been cared for by her husband, Cathal, her daughter, Rachel, and other family members since 2019, reports RTE.
Today, she reached a €2 million settlement in her case against the hospital.
In her legal action, it was alleged that she would have made a full physical recovery had she not fallen and hit her head, and that there was a failure in duty by not providing adequate supervision, reports RTE.
The defendants denied the claims and entered a full defense, but following mediation, the case was settled without any admission of liability.
‘The best mother you could ask for’
Approving the settlement, Mr. Justice Paul Coffey acknowledged that every aspect of the case would have been contested had it proceeded to a full trial, reports RTE.
Addressing Ms. Flood’s family in court, he wished her the best for the future.
Following the settlement, Ms. Flood’s daughter, Rachel, described her mother as “amazing, the best mother you could ask for, but things have changed.”
She explained that her mother has not been the same since the fall, and this has been something the family has had to come to terms with, reports RTE.
“It was hard to deal with because her personality has changed and things she would have said before she no longer says,” she said, reports RTE.
Her mother “forgets everything” and cannot be left alone at home, requiring “24/7 care,” she added.
“She is just completely different now, completely different,” reports RTE.
The family’s solicitor, David O’Malley, stated that Ms. Flood had entered the hospital full of hope for what was meant to be a life-enhancing surgery, but instead, she experienced catastrophic, life-changing consequences.
He expressed the family’s hope that “the State will learn from incidents such as this and that really vulnerable people will be adequately monitored from now on in every hospital in the country,” reports RTE.
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