A MAN has secured some €250,000 in damages from the High Court for serious injuries suffered after he contracted severe pancreatitis as a result of medical treatment which was admitted to be negligent.
Mr Justice John Quirke said he was satisfied Brendan Ward was gravely ill after the May 1998 procedure which led to his pancreatitis, which required major surgery, and he was unable to stand for his wedding in September 1998 due to his debilitated condition.
Mr Ward (39), a father of one, of Cahir, Co Tipperary, had sued the South East and Midlands Health Boards and two consultants.
He was subjected in May 1998 to what he claimed was an unnecessary procedure, known as an ERCP, at Tullamore Hospital, after which he began to experience unbearable abdominal pain.
An ERCP is a diagnostic procedure performed using a viewing instrument within the stomach and intestine and can cause complications including perforation, hypoxia and acute pancreatitis.
Mr Ward claimed he developed pancreatitis as a result of the ERCP, but was never warned of the risks of that procedure.
He alleged negligence and breach of duty by the two health boards responsible for the provision of hospital care, and two consultants, Dr Paul O’Regan at Clonmel Hospital and Dr Humphrey J O’Connor at Tullamore.
The judge described Mr Ward as a conscientious and truthful witness. He awarded him a total of €247,000 damages, to include: €75,000 for the non-neurological consequences of his pancreatitis; €50,000 for his neurological condition; and €100,000 for general damages into the future.
The judge noted the defendants initially denied any negligence in the treatment of Mr Ward’s illness or in providing adequate information about the risks associated with the ERCP, but on the sixth day of the trial they admitted the pancreatitis was caused directly by negligence and breach of duty.