In an unfortunate incident dating back to 2015, a woman named Ingrida Grigaliunaite lost her life post a debilitating fall at a Dart station, prompting a High Court case. The St James’s Hospital, where she was admitted, was accused of not undertaking an immediate brain scan to ascertain the severity of the injury she incurred to her head. A profound apology, void of any reservations, was tendered by the hospital in court for not meeting its duty of care.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Dublin-based hospital, Mary Day, expressed deep regret over the painful and distressing situation that was caused due to the hospital’s failure to conduct a brain scan within an hour after 1am on November 12th, 2015. However, the hospital denied all other allegations and stood its grounds that the sole admitted lapse on its part didn’t lead or contribute to Ms Grigaliunaite’s demise.
The case, argued on behalf of Ms Grigaliunaite’s relatives, was finally settled after mediation took place. The senior counsel representing the family, Oonah McCrann, guided by Lynda Lucey and Cara Walsh from Mullany Walsh Maxwells, said that the hospital’s apology should be publicised in court as part of the settlement’s condition. The court was informed that there was an agreement over the distribution of the statutory mental distress payment among the legal dependents of Ms Grigaliunaite.
Justice Paul Coffey expressed his deepest condolences to the woman’s kin. The Lithuanian national, who was employed as an insurance analyst in Dublin, had been out socialising with her workmates on the night of November 11th, 2015. She was sighted by a Dart station employee at Pearse Street dart station around 10:45pm, where she either fell or collapsed, hitting the back of her head. She was reportedly semi-conscious and incoherent, followed by bouts of vomit, as described by the Dart station employee.
The case accused St James’s of negligence in handling a patient who arrived in an ambulance at 11:40pm and was evaluated by a nurse as a “third category” patient, indicating she should have been attended to within 60 minutes. The accusation stated she was found to be disoriented while her Glasgow Coma Scale score suggested mild traumatic brain damage (13 out of a possible 15).
Her respiration reduced by 4am and her pupils stopped reacting; she was moved to the resuscitation room ten minutes later. Despite efforts to resuscitate her, she was declared dead at 5.10am. A post-mortem examination connected her death to a rare brain injury (extradural haemorrhage in the posterior fossa) caused by a double-sided cranial fracture, as the legal case argued.
This legal action for personal injuries, launched by her brother Tomas Grigaliunas who lives in Galway, was against Lorcan Birthistle, the former CEO of St James’s, representing the hospital. The family asserted that her premature death had caused them mental distress.
They levelled several allegations against the hospital, including failures to appropriately monitor her state, ensure proper procedures for medical emergencies involving head trauma were in place, and alleged improper diagnosis of her symptoms as drunkenness instead of arranging for a consultation with a doctor, or organising an examination or scan.
In spite of admitting one breach of duty, the hospital rejected all allegations of negligence.
Ms Grigaliunaite’s parents arrived in Ireland to listen to the apology in the court room. The Grigaliunas family stated outside the court that Ms Grigaliunaite, who had come to Ireland to live with her brother and had earned a master’s degree in mathematics and economics from the University of Galway, was a ray of sunshine in their lives. They said she was starting off her career in 2015 when she died and was in the process of purchasing a house. They added that the delay in the apology only intensified their grief for their lost beloved, talented, and beautiful Ingrida.
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