Dearbhla O’Hanlon of O’Reilly Stewart Solicitors recently obtained a settlement of £250,000 on behalf of our client who suffered severe injuries whilst a patient of the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust.
Our client attended ED with shortness of breath and fast irregular heart rhythm and was admitted to hospital. A couple of days later, reducing the level of supervision of an elderly patient, our client was moved to a side ward due to an increase in their temperature and suspicion of Covid-19 infection. The swab for Covid-19 transpired to be negative, however following this confirmation, our client was not moved back to the main ward for closer observation which was deemed to be required previously owing to their age and risk of delirium.
Four days later, our client fell whilst in the side ward and suffered several injuries. There was a delay in staff coming to the aid of our client. When staff did attend with our client, a head injury could be visualised as well as obvious facial injuries. It transpires on further examination that our client sustained the following:
- Eye socket fracture
- Blood in the left maxillary sinus
- Maxillary sinus fractures
- Facial lacerations
- Bleed to the brain
- Large left preceptal haematoma with displaced left orbit
- Fractured left wrist.
The Trust commenced an internal investigation which outlined the areas where they “fell short of expected standards” and a heartfelt apology was made.
As a consequence thereof, Dearbhla O’Hanlon was instructed to investigate the standard of care our client received. A formal admission of liability was made at an early stage by the Trust.
Our investigation involved collation of extensive medical records and instruction of a team of medical experts, based both in England and in Northern Ireland, in order to evidence the injuries our client sustained.
Pre-proceedings negotiations between the parties proved to be successful with our client accepting an award of damages in the sum of £250,000 in respect of the avoidable pain, suffering, inconvenience and upset our client endured, plus all of their costs. Proceedings were therefore not required to bring this matter to a resolution, owing to the settlement of the claim at an early stage.
Commenting on the result, our client stated, “From start to finish O’Reilly Stewart and in particular Dearbhla O’Hanlon was excellent. Highly professional and knowledgeable. She showed empathy and understanding. She kept us fully updated throughout. I am more than happy with the outcome. Highly recommend.”
