A Limerick woman who received £480,000 after she sued the Mid-Western Health Board and a GP for negligence over her husband's death a decade ago said it was anger that motivated her through the ups and downs of the 10-year battle.
Ms Carmel Collins, a mother of three, brought the case after her husband, Jim, died of a brain haemorrhage in 1991, six weeks after being told he had viral flu. Her youngest daughter, Caroline, was 17 months old at the time of his death.
"Her father never came back and I came back a totally different person. I was so angry down through the years. It had to rub off on her.
"I was angry at the whole system and angry at what they put me through to prove that Jim had been neglected," Ms Collins said.
Without the "no foal no fee" system, under which her solicitor, Ms Frances Twomey, and her barristers agreed they would be paid only if they won the case, she could not have pursued the matter. "The solicitor has not got a penny out of it to this day. She had the most awful time with me. There were times when I was most unreasonable."
Ms Collins, who works in a school, was awarded the amount as compensation for the loss of earnings which her husband, a bricklayer, would have gained had he lived. "I do not even feel it is anything to do with Jim anymore. I am accepting that as compensation for the torture they have put us through."
The decision on the award was the result of seven trips to court in 14 months. It followed a successful Supreme Court appeal she brought in November, 1999, after the case had been thrown out by the High Court in May, 1996.
It was a low moment in the battle when Mr Justice Johnson said she had failed to establish negligence. At the time, she had to laugh at the costs, about £300,000, which were awarded to the defendants. "They were awarded their costs and they put a lot of pressure on Frances to have them paid, but all we had was the house at the time and my children owned a third of it.
"If I had a life assurance policy I might have had to give in. I think the fact that I had nothing but the house and a non-contributory pension was a help.
"In all of it, we never lost our sense of humour, we were lucky about that."
The decision to appeal to the Supreme Court followed. "I just could not stop. There was no way. Even if we had to lose the house, I still had to do it.
"My worst feeling was the day we were going up for the judgment. The feeling I had was: this is the day we are turning off the life support machine."
Mr Justice Barron found there was a breach of the duty of care for which the Mid-Western Health Board was liable. He also found the Limerick-based GP, Dr Ray O'Connor, to have been negligent. The judge directed the action be sent back to the High Court to decide whether loss had flowed from the breaches of duty of the health board and Dr O'Connor.
Despite last week's award marking the end of the case, the real celebration for Ms Collins was when she won the appeal. A celebration was held for everybody who supported her. "I have had good friends who helped me out along the way. My neighbours organised a benefit dance when Jim died."
She met her husband, who was from Sixmilebridge, Co Clare, at a dance when she was aged 16. Three years later they were married and he built the house she lives in now. Some of the award will now go on jobs which had to be put on hold, she added. The remainder will be invested. "If my pension goes tomorrow and I started to dip into it, I would not be long going through it with an 11-year-old child."
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Readers who want to contact Eibhir Mulqueen can leave messages for him by phoning 01-6707711, ext 6544. emulqueen@irish-times.ie