A senior theatre nurse, injured while assisting surgeons in an emergency operation to reconstruct an accident victim's face, has failed in her claim for up to £30,000 damages against Beaumont Hospital.
Ms Josephine McKiernan (59), now of Tillsonbura, Ontario, Canada, told the Circuit Civil Court she had to have seven stitches in a 1 1/2-inch hand wound inflicted as she removed a disposable scalpel blade from its metal glove.
She said the scalpel was covered in coagulated blood and, following the October 1994 accident, she had to spend nine weeks waiting for an HIV clearance test.
Ms McKiernan agreed with Mr Finbarr Fox, for the hospital, that her use of an artery forceps to remove the blade was a standard practice in the theatre. Several theatre nurses told Mr Fox the practice was a standard procedure.
Judge Raymond Groarke said the accident was a one-off. While the procedure was hazardous, there was nothing in law which said an employer must not ask an employee to undertake hazardous work.
"An employer is obliged to provide certain instruction, supervision and care of the highest possible standard," said Judge Groarke. "There has been no evidence that the equipment was inadequate or defective or that the plaintiff was new to theatre."
He said Ms McKiernan was a highly-experienced nurse who had removed scalpel blades in this manner many times. If he was to find for her, he would be establishing a standard other than that which had been applied by the best experts in nursing.
He said he would dismiss the claim without any award of costs.