Father settles action on polio vaccine

A man who contracted polio through contact with nappies of his infant daughter after she received the oral polio vaccine (OPV) has settled his action for damages against the Midland Health Board and a doctor.

The settlement was without an admission of liability and no details of it were disclosed to the High Court.

Mr Anthony Blanche (42), a father of three, of Belgrove, Ballybrittas, Co Laois, was never himself vaccinated for polio. He claimed that when his daughter Isabel was being inoculated in 1994, he should have been warned of the dangers to any non-immunised person of contracting polio and should have been vaccinated at the same time as his daughter.

He had sued a GP, Dr Fergus McKeagney, with a practice at Main Street, Portarlington, and the Midland Health Board, for negligence. The court was told that Dr McKeagney had inoculated Isabel in 1994 with the OPV. The defendants had denied negligence and pleaded contributory negligence. The board also pleaded it was never responsible for administration of the polio vaccine.

The hearing opened before Mr Justice O'Neill last October and ran for several weeks. It was adjourned last December and scheduled to resume this week. However, after talks between the sides throughout the day, the judge was told late on Tuesday afternoon the case was settled.