Courts

Family of woman (21) who died hours after discharge from Limerick hospital after hurting leg sues in High Court

Parents of Eve Sheehan Cleary, who collapsed after she was sent home and told to rest, claimed that she was allowed to develop a deep vein thrombosis

Barry Cleary and his wife Melanie Sheehan Cleary of Corbally, Co Limerick, outside the Four Courts, where they have brought an action against the HSE over the death of their daughter Eve in 2019. Photograph: Collins Courts

Wed Jan 17 2024 - 18:09

The family of a 21-year-old woman who died hours after she was discharged from University Hospital Limerick have launched a High Court action against the Health Service Executive.

Eve Sheehan Cleary, from Corbally, Limerick, died in the early hours of July 21st, 2019, two days after she fell and hurt her leg and went to the emergency department of the hospital.

Her parents Barry Cleary and Melanie Sheehan Cleary, and her siblings Kate, Elizabeth, Sarah, Emma and Sean, all of Corbally, Co Limerick, have sued the HSE over her death and for mental distress.

Opening their case on Wednesday, senior counsel Dr John O’Mahony, with Doireann O’Mahony BL, said it was “a profound and tragic case that would bring tears to a stone”.

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It is claimed that Eve was allowed to develop a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and that an opportunity was missed at the hospital to put her on the anticoagulant Heparin on admission. The HSE has admitted it failed to carry out a formal risk assessment for blood clots but has denied all other claims.

Counsel said trauma to the lower limb is a risk factor to DVT, which is where a blood clot forms in a deep vein. He said Eve’s leg had swelled and it all pointed inexorably to her being at risk.

He said a scan of her leg was clear but she had soft tissue injury. She was later discharged from the hospital and told to rest. He said Eve was apprehensive about being discharged.

Eve Sheehan Cleary and her mother Melanie. Photograph courtesy of Melanie Sheehan

She went home to bed but later became unwell. Counsel said she had a deep pallor, was blue around the mouth and collapsed on the stairs. The family called an ambulance, and Eve’s father attempted CPR.

He said: “It was a chaotic situation. The youngest saw Eve on the floor flat out and rubbed her hair to comfort her.”

Eve, he said, was in a serious state and was taken to hospital, where attempts were made to resuscitate her. She was given adrenalin but died.

He told Ms Justice Emily Egan that Eve was only at home three or so hours after discharge when she collapsed.

Counsel said it was their case that if the clot risk assessment had taken place at the hospital, Heparin would have been given which, counsel says, “would have prevented development of the clot that killed her”.

In evidence, Eve’s mother said that when her daughter was on a trolley in a corridor she had no room to extend her legs. She said Eve used her hoodie as a blanket and she put a jumper under her head.

Ms Cleary said the first thing she said she noticed was the stench of urine in the corridor. She said her daughter’s lower limb was “red and angry from her ankle up to her knee”. She said her daughter asked her not to leave her on her own and said her leg was searing like a poker.

“It reminded me of a Christmas ham; her leg was bulbous,” she told the judge.

The case continues.

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