The family of an elderly patient killed while crossing the road outside one of the country’s busiest hospitals say they are angry with the HSE and not with the motorist who hit him.
In a gesture of forgiveness one of the victim’s daughters hugged the motorist convicted in relation to the fatal crash outside the courthouse yesterday.
Father-of-13 Michael Doran, from Templemore, Co Tipperary, was returning to the then Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick after visiting a local shop when he was fatally injured.
A jury at Limerick Circuit Court was told how the man (69), who was admitted to hospital with a chest infection, was using a wheelchair as a walking aid when he left in his pyjamas on St Stephen’s Day, 2011.
William McDermott (72) of Embury Close, Adare, Co Limerick, was convicted of careless driving causing the death of Mr Doran at St Nessan’s Road, Dooradoyle. He was acquitted of the more serious charge of dangerous driving causing death by the jury after less than two hours of deliberations.
Mr Doran’s daughter Sabrina Byrne (32) said her family was upset with the HSE. “Our big issue is that our father was allowed to leave a hospital in a wheelchair and with a walking stick in the condition he was in.
“Our problem is with the HSE and not the man that knocked him down. But the HSE says it has no case to answer that it’s a hospital and not a prison.”