The mother of an eight-year-old girl who died in the Mercy Hospital in Cork broke down and cried as she left a courtroom yesterday after a settlement of £12,827 was approved by a judge. Mrs Marie O'Sullivan and her husband, Michael, from Elsinore Heights in Midleton, Co Cork, had brought an action against the hospital, the Southern Health Board and Dr Fiona Devereux, following the death of their daughter, Lisa.
At an earlier court hearing, they had said that they were not happy to have the case settled because there was no admission of liability. However, yesterday the barrister representing the Mercy Hospital, Mr Don McCarthy, told Judge A.G. Murphy that he understood how the parents felt and on behalf of the hospital expressed "regret and the deepest sympathy" to the family.
The barrister representing Dr Devereux said that, while they were not a party to the settlement, the doctor also wished to convey her deepest sympathy to the family. At the earlier hearing, the O'Sullivans claimed Dr Devereux, through her lack of experience, did not realise how ill Lisa was when she was admitted and failed to contact the consultant.
