A High Court case surrounding the death of a 45-year-old woman, Patricia Kelly, who went into a coma after an operation and never regained consciousness, has been settled for €400,000. The case was pursued by the woman’s family against Cork University Hospital (CUH), where the operation occurred. Despite the procedure on her neck discs seeming successful, Mrs Kelly from Cork City fell into a 22-month coma after the surgery in February 2014 and succumbed to her unconscious state on December 17, 2015.
A series of tests revealed that Mrs Kelly had sustained brain damage, however, it was complex to determine the cause and hence, liability remained contested throughout the case. Her husband, John Kelly, forwarded the lawsuit against Health Service Executive (HSE) alleging that the day-care surgery his wife had undergone was considered insufficient given her obesity – an aspect known or should have been known by the defendant.
In addition, the case accuses the HSE of not factoring Mrs Kelly’s medical history of diabetes and hypertension along with her obesity. Although admitting to neglect of duties in managing anaesthesia aspects like pre-assessment, medical records, blood pressure, oxygenation, and blood glucose, the HSE denied that these would definitively be relevant to her death.
Furthermore, the HSE highlighted that the neck surgery was executed standardly, and they observed that her blood oxygen levels, though lower than predicted, never reached critically low points. Meanwhile, her blood pressure readings predominantly remained within the normal range, thus negating breach of duties or negligence claims in connection to Mrs Kelly’s unfortunate demise. It was after mediation that the parties reached the settlement of €400,000.
Mr Justice Paul Coffey expressed his profound condolences to the Kelly family in light of the settlement. It came to light during the inquest related to Ms Kelly’s demise that she had a medical background of diabetes and hypertension. After a minor fall in November 2013, she urgently required surgery.
Her spouse, John, left her at the hospital for the neck procedure anticipating collecting her later that day. However, he received news at 12.30pm stating that she was not regaining consciousness. The family alleges that upon reaching the hospital, they were merely informed that the procedure had been successful, with no further clarity provided as to why Ms Kelly remained unconscious. These claims have been categorically denied.