The High Court found that a delay in investigating a woman’s symptoms after spinal surgery worsened her bladder damage, awarding her €120,000 in general damages.
In a judgment delivered on 7 June 2013, Ms Justice Irvine found that the defendants’ failure to arrange an urgent MRI scan after the woman returned to Sligo General Hospital on 12 March 2006 delayed her second operation by about 48 hours. She concluded that the delay probably made the bladder damage more severe and her recovery less successful.
The woman had undergone surgery at the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital on 3 March 2006 to remove a large prolapsed disc. After being discharged on 8 March, she developed new symptoms, including urinary retention, reduced sensation around the perineum and reported faecal soiling. The court found that these were warning signs that required emergency investigation.
The judgment said clinicians in Sligo assessed her and consulted a Mater registrar by telephone. She remained in Sligo on bed rest and was due to attend a Mater clinic on 14 March. The court found that the decision not to transfer her immediately or arrange urgent imaging fell below the standard of care. The MRI was carried out on 16 March and showed disc material compressing the spinal canal. She underwent a second operation the following day.
The court did not find the hospitals negligent in the earlier treatment. It rejected claims that Sligo General should have arranged emergency imaging during the woman’s February admission, and that the Mater unreasonably delayed the first operation from 28 February to 3 March. It also rejected allegations that the first operation used an unacceptable technique or failed to remove the disc. The judge accepted that the woman had experienced a new disc prolapse after that operation.
On causation, the judge found that the woman would probably have had lasting bladder problems even if the delay had not occurred, because she already had cauda equina syndrome with retention before the 12 March admission. But the additional delay worsened the outcome: the court concluded she would now need to self-catheterise twice daily for the rest of her life. It did not find that her claimed bowel problems or other physical symptoms were caused by the delay.
The court awarded €120,000 in general damages. The judgment does not state an order for special damages or costs in the supplied text.