The High Court awarded €33,000 of the maximum €35,000 solatium in a wrongful death action to the deceased woman’s husband, with €1,000 each awarded to her father and mother. The court made no award to her stepmother, stepfather or half-brother.
The ruling, delivered by Mr Justice Barr on 8 February 2018, concerned only how the solatium damages should be divided among the statutory dependants. Liability had already been conceded, and the parties had reached an out-of-court settlement on 16 January 2018. The court did not revisit liability or the underlying settlement.
The action followed the woman’s death on 8 May 2016. The defendant was sued as a representative of the National Maternity Hospital, Holles Street, Dublin. The judgment says the husband brought the claim for himself and seven other statutory dependants, all resident in the United States.
On 23 January, the court was told that none of the other dependants had indicated whether they wished to share the solatium. It awarded the full amount to the husband, relying in part on statements that the deceased’s grandmother and half-sister wished their entitlements to pass to him. The next day, the solicitor learned that the deceased’s father and stepmother had emailed signed authorities asking to participate. The matter was relisted before the formal order had been perfected.
After considering their emails and the circumstances, the judge found that the two authorities had not been brought to the solicitor’s attention before the first hearing. He accepted her explanation, found she acted properly in seeking a relisting, and concluded that the error caused no prejudice or injustice because the father and stepmother had a full opportunity to make their case.
The father and stepmother objected to the husband receiving any of the award and expressed the view that it should go to the deceased’s half-brother. The judge accepted that the father had been greatly affected by his daughter’s death and awarded him €1,000. He also awarded €1,000 to her mother, while noting there was no evidence of her emotional response. Neither parent’s award was conditional on donating it to the half-brother.
The stepmother did not seek an award for herself. The judge declined to award money to the stepfather or half-brother, finding their relationship with the deceased appeared extremely limited. With the grandmother and half-sister having waived any claim, the remaining €33,000 was awarded to the husband.