Ms Lorraine Duffy, a Galway teacher who collapsed with a brain hemorrhage four years after being given the all clear in a brain scan has settled a High Court action for €750,000 failure to diagnose compensation.
Ms Duffy’s legal representative barrister John O’Mahony told the High Court she had attended the Galway hospital for a brain scan in 2008 as she was suffering from severe headaches particularly over her left eye. She was told that brain scan showed nothing abnormal and she was given the all clear. Four years later, in 2012, Ms Duffy was out running in 2012 when she collapsed.
Counsel said that at this point it was discovered that there was an aneurysm in the right side of the brain which should have shown up in the initial brain scan in 2008. Due to the failure to act on the 2008 brain scan Ms Duffy now has deficits because of injuries to the brain.
Ms Duffy (42) of An Creagan, Barna, Co Galway, took the failure to diagnose action against the Bon Secours Hospital, Renmore Road, Bon Secours Ireland Ltd and Bon Secours Health System Ltd of College Road, Cork which manages the Galway hospital. In addition to this she sought compensation from consultant radiologist Dr Davidson and Alliance Medical Diagnostic Imaging Ltd of Raheen, Co Limerick which was managed the diagnostic imaging at the Galway Hospital at the time of the 2008 scan.
Ms Duffy was given the wrong diagnosis of migraine headaches to be managed with medication. However, in the aftermath of her collapse in 2012 the matter was further investigated at a Dublin hospital and Ms Duffy was found to have been suffering from aneurysms.
Due to the brain injuries she suffered during the aneurysms Ms Duffy can now only do her job part time and will suffers from the consequences for the remainder of her life.
An apology by consultant radiologist, Dr Ian Davidson, of Bon Secours Hospital, Galway, was read to the court in which he acknowledged and apologised for “the failings” in respect of his care that led to the delay in diagnosis of Lorraine Duffy’s inter cranial aneurysm.
Dr Davidson stated: “I would like to offer my sincere sympathy and regret for the upset and harm you have suffered arising from the subarachnoid hemorrhage in May 2012”.