The family of a woman who died from a heart attack after she was wrongfully discharged from hospital has won their compensation court case for death in a hospital caused by negligence claim and are to receive £278,000 Euros in compensation.
The judge in court heard how Mrs Teresa O’Brien had been admitted to hospital in September 2004 with a heart complaint.
The consultant at the hospital had ordered that an angiogram be carried out and Mrs O’Brien kept in hospital. A senior house officer also performed stress tests and sent the results to a doctor. It was alleged that neither the senior house officer nor the doctor linked results of the stress test with the direction given by the consultant that Mrs O’Brien should not be discharged from hospital until she had been x-rayed. As a result, Mrs O’Brien was sent home and tragically died four days later. Her post-mortem showed evidence of cardiovascular irregularity and it was also discovered later that the results of the stress test had been misread.
The health service conceded liability after Mrs O’Brien’s widower – Paul – sought damages for medical negligence and breach of duty. The judge approved a compensation settlement of £106,000 for Paul O’Brien, with further amounts of £77,000 for her son Daniel and £85,000 Euros for her step-son Daryl. Other Smaller sums are also to be awarded to Mrs O’Brien’s two brothers and sister.