An award of €10,000 for medical negligence has been granted to a man was put under anaesthetic for an operation that was never carried out.
Missing Equipment
The Circuit Civil Court heard late last week that the man (31) from Dublin had been due to undergo an operation on his right hip in November, 2016. However, the operation did not go ahead due to the disappearance of a vital piece of equipment.
Having been admitted to the hospital's short-stay procedure unit at 6.45am on the day of the operation, the patient was given anaesthetic at 7.30am. However, upon opening the set of instruments that were to be used for the operation, it was discovered that an irrigation extender was missing, as it had been sent for repair a month earlier and never replaced.
When the patient awoke at 8.30am, a number of nurses rushed over to him to say that there had been an issue with the surgery. He described feeling very panicked as he had not understood what had happened until further clarification from the nurses.
He claimed to have been suffering from nausea and stomach pains the following day.
Anxiety
With a new operation scheduled for 10 days later on December 5th, the man alleged that he had felt very worried in the run up to the new operation, as well as feeling anxious about having to take the anaesthetic again.
Although Judge John O'Connor said that while the man had been fortunate that the incident had resulted in no long-term effects, he did concede that the situation was an unpleasant one.
Accepting that there had been medical negligence on the part of the hospital, Judge O’Connor awarded the man €10,000 general damages.
*In contentious business, a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement.