The High Court has approved a settlement of €2 million in the case of a woman who fell while alone in a toilet cubicle a day-and-a-half after surgery to remove a tumour from the base of her skull.
The case against Beaumont Hospital in Dublin was contested and the settlement was made without admission of liability.
Jacinta Flood had epilepsy for many years which was treated with medication. But in May 2017, scans revealed the 58-year-old, from Letterkenny in Co Donegal, had a tumour at the base of her skull.
Her condition was managed for the next two years but when the tumour grew, a decision was made for her to have surgery.
On 22 May 2019, a day-and-a-half after the surgery, she had a fall while unsupervised in a toilet cubicle.
The court was told there was no criticism of the nursing care Ms Flood received and that two nurses were outside. But it was claimed she should not have been allowed to be in the cubicle alone due to her risk of falling.
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Immediately after the fall, Ms Flood suffered a severe and sudden deterioration, an increase in seizures and had to be rushed to theatre for emergency surgery to remove a blood clot on the brain.
She spent a long period in intensive care. Ms Flood did not fully recover and was left with a significant cognitive impairment.
She will not be able to work again and needs permanent care.
Senior Counsel John Healy told the High Court that ever since the incident, Ms Flood struggles with mobility and is at constant risk of falling.
She has severely impaired memory and concentration, and cannot retain information. She also requires constant supervision and has been cared for by her husband, Cathal, and her daughter, Rachel, along with other family members since 2019.
Today, she settled her case against the hospital for €2 million.
In her High Court action, it was claimed that she would have made a complete physical recovery if she had not fallen and struck her head and that there was a breach of duty in failing to provide supervision.
The claims were denied and a full defence was entered by the defendants but after mediation the case settled without an admission of liability.
'The best mother you could ask for'
Approving the settlement, Mr Justice Paul Coffey said it was clear that every aspect of the case would have been contested if it had gone to a full hearing.
Addressing Ms Flood's family, who were in court, he said he wanted to wish her all the best for the future.
Afterwards, Ms Flood's daughter Rachel said her mother was "amazing, the best mother you could ask for, but things have changed".
She said since the fall, her mother was not the same as she had been before and that was something they have had to deal with.
It was hard to deal with because her personality has changed and things she would have said before she no longer says, she said.
Her mother "forgets everything" and cannot be left home alone and needs "24/7 care", she added.
"She is just completely different now, completely different."
The family's solicitor, David O'Malley, said Ms Flood had gone into hospital full of hope for what should have been life-enhancing surgery but instead it had life-changing catastrophic results.
He said the family "hope that the State will learn from incidents such as this and that really vulnerable people will be adequately monitored from now on in every hospital in the country".
