A High Court action concerning Iaroslava Arkypenko, a Ukrainian pensioner who experienced a debilitating stroke has been settled for €250,000. Currently suffering from locked-in syndrome, Mrs. Arkypenko is entirely paralysed, only capable of communication through her eye movements. The seventy-three-year-old claimed that St Vincent’s Healthcare Group didn’t provide her with adequate care at St Vincent’s University Hospital in Dublin. On the evening of September 27, 2022, she was taken to the emergency department, complaining of feeling dizzy and nauseous. Although she was checked by a doctor after 10 pm, it is alleged that she had a significant stroke around 2am on September 28th.
It was during these early hours that Mrs. Arkypenko’s son alerted the nursing staff to his mother’s deteriorating condition, noticing that she had slumped to one side on her chair and was displaying left-sided weakness. St Vincent’s Healthcare Group firmly denied all allegations but agreed to a settlement which constitutes 50% of the demanded damages, due to the potential litigation risks associated with the case, the court was informed.
Solicitor Niall Kiernan instructed Sara Moorehead SC, who informed the court that Mrs. Arkypenko is currently residing in a nursing home in the Leinster region. The elderly woman will continue her stay at the nursing home under the Fair Deal scheme as part of the settlement. Mrs. Arkypenko was visiting family in Dublin and was found by her son feeling dizzy and vomit-inducing.
Accompanied by her son, she reached the emergency department of St Vincent’s Hospital, where she was given ‘Level 3’ classification, indicating the need for immediate medical attention within an hour. However, she was attended only at 10pm and by a doctor at 10:30 pm. Reportedly, the doctor diagnosed her as getting better before being called away to attend another emergency. At 2:15 am, the pensioner suffered a severe stroke. The claimant party believes that if she had received a scan prior to 10:30 pm, she could have been transferred to Beaumont Hospital for appropriate treatment.
The assertions made in the case indicate that the acute onset of a stroke was not identified promptly despite relevant medical history and prominent symptoms. The woman was allegedly not directed for required CT scan imaging promptly, which, in theory, would have clearly disclosed an acute stroke in the posterior circulation. The allegations further claimed that early detection of the acute stroke was overlooked, preventing the woman from receiving suitable emergency treatment, thereby averting the grave end result of locked-in syndrome. However, all these claims were refuted. In relation to the settlement, Mr Justice Paul Coffey mentioned appreciating it as fair and just, given the potential litigation risks in the case.