The High Court has allowed an appeal by D.M. against the dismissal of her claim for compensation for psychiatric illness following her father’s death from HIV complications. The Court found she had suffered “nervous shock” within the meaning of the Hepatitis C Compensation Tribunal legislation and remitted the matter to the Tribunal for assessment and an award. It did not itself set the amount of compensation.
The appeal concerned a Tribunal decision of 4 February 2015. The Tribunal had accepted that the circumstances of D.M.’s father’s illness and death significantly contributed to her psychiatric illness, but dismissed the claim because it was not satisfied that the illness was shock-induced.
D.M.’s father, who had severe haemophilia, contracted HIV from blood products administered in Ireland and died in 1989. D.M. was a teenager. The judgment recounts that she learned of the seriousness of his illness by overhearing a conversation, saw his health deteriorate, and visited him in hospital the day before he died. She expected to return the following day. She later learned that his body had been placed in a bag and the coffin sealed; the family had not been allowed to see him after his death. Her mother told the children that he had died of cancer, and D.M. kept the truth to herself.
The Court considered medical evidence that D.M. developed depressive and adjustment disorders following her father’s death. The judge accepted evidence from psychiatrists Dr. O’Ceallaigh and Dr. Cryan and clinical psychologist Jo Campion that the death and its surrounding circumstances caused the recognised illnesses. The judgment also notes later stressors, including a serious marital relationship and threats to D.M. and her child, which contributed to the emergence of symptoms requiring hospital treatment in 2006. The illnesses had not fully resolved.
The Court held that the Tribunal had wrongly applied a common-law test associated with sudden accidents and their immediate aftermath. It said claims under the statutory scheme must be considered in the context of the circumstances of deaths from HIV or hepatitis C, including the illness and its surrounding events. The Court concluded that D.M.’s father’s death and the events leading up to and following it caused her recognised psychiatric illnesses, and that she was entitled to compensation under the legislation.
The order was to allow the appeal and return the matter to the Tribunal for assessment and an award. The judgment does not specify the amount of any award.