The husband and son of a woman who died at the National Maternity Hospital hours after undergoing an emergency caesarean section to deliver her baby have settled their High Court action for €650,000 over nervous shock.
Nora Hyland, 31, a Malaysian woman who was living at Charlotte Quay in Dublin 4 at the time, died on the operating table at the National Maternity Hospital (NMH), Holles Street, on 13 February 2012, within three hours of undergoing an emergency caesarean section to deliver her son Frederick.
In the High Court today, Mr Justice Kevin Cross approved the €650,000 settlement on behalf of Nora's husband Stephen Hyland and Frederick.
Mr Hyland claimed he suffered severe and profound nervous shock, upset and mental distress as a result of what happened.
The claims were denied.
Approving the settlement, Mr Justice Cross sympathised with the Hyland family on their loss.
The Hyland's lawyers told the court the settlement was without admission of liability.
While the Hylands were satisfied with the settlement, they were too upset to attend court.
The court was told Ms Hyland died after delivering Frederick - her first child.
He was delivered successfully but Ms Hyland began to lose a lot of blood.
Steps were taken in theatre and a request for blood was made just after midnight and a blood transfusion took place at 12.45am.
At the inquest the hospital indicated new protocols were later put in place in relation to blood supply stock.
Mr Hyland, 42, of Station Road, Portmarnock, Co Dublin, had sued the National Maternity Hospital for nervous shock over the traumatic circumstances leading to and surrounding the death of his wife.
It was claimed the medical records report that no blood was given to Ms Hyland until 12.40am when she had her first transfusion of O-negative blood.
She had several more units of blood but at 1.45am Ms Hyland went into cardiac arrest and efforts to resuscitate her were unsuccessful.
The inquest returned a verdict of medical misadventure in the case.
Dublin coroner Dr Brian Farrell found the cause of death was a cardiac arrest as a result of severe post-partum haemorrhage.
However, he said that he was not able to say the delay in Mrs Hyland receiving blood was a "definite" risk factor in her death.
The inquest previously heard that a labelling error in the laboratory contributed to a 37-minute delay in Ms Hyland receiving a blood transfusion.
No emergency supply units of O-negative, the universal blood type, were kept in operating theatres at the NMH at the time.
At the time of the inquest in 2014, Mr Hyland paid tribute to his late wife whom he met while travelling in Malaysia. They were together for eight years and married for three-and-a-half before her death.
"Nora was the most gentle, kindest, warm-hearted, beautiful little lady that I ever met. I fell in love with her the very first time that I saw her. She was just full of life, loved nature, loved animals," he said.
He said their son Frederick is "full of health, full of life. He is making me laugh and smile and every time I see him, I see Nora."
