The family of a 61-year-old woman who died from Covid-19 after repeated transfers between a hospital and a step-down facility has settled a High Court action over her death.
It is understood the case is the first to come before the courts related to Covid-19 deaths.
Elizabeth 'Betty' Carroll from Mayfield in Cork city was diagnosed with blood cancer after being admitted to the Mercy University Hospital in August 2021.
In a High Court action it was claimed that neither she nor her family were advised of her immunosuppression and her vulnerability to Covid-19 and that she was exposed to an avoidable risk of infection.
On 1 September 2021, she was discharged from the Mercy Hospital and transferred to the St Francis Unit nursing home facility.
The court was told that at the time it was known that patients of nursing home type institutions were extremely vulnerable to Covid-19 infection with poor outcomes in many cases.
On 7 September she was found to be seriously ill and was transferred back to the hospital but returned to the nursing home three days later.
The following day she was struggling to breathe and was transferred back to the hospital where she tested positive for Covid-19. She was put on a ventilator and died on 1 October 2021.
It was claimed she had been exposed to the avoidable risk of infection with repeated transfers between the Mercy University Hospital, Cork and St Francis Unit, Baker’s Road, Gurranbraher, Cork.
It was further alleged that Ms Carroll had been discharged from the Mercy University Hospital without first confirming that the nursing home facility was a suitable and safe facility offering at least the same level of protection from Covid 19 infection as the hospital.
All of the claims were denied and the case against the hospital and the HSE was settled without admission of liability.
Afterwards, Ms Carroll’s husband Anthony Carroll said he and his family were heartbroken.
He said his wife was "the best person in the world" and lived for her family, children and grandchildren.
The family had hesitantly brought the case and did so in memory of his wife.
"We felt this was the only action we could take, he said recalling that window visits to his wife were "absolutely horrendous" when she was in the nursing home.
"The window visits were terrible and soul destroying. Betty was so near and yet so far," he said.
"We are so heartbroken and another four weeks of having to sit in court and listen to arguments would have been too much for us," he said.
He added: "We hope that our family can now live in honour of Betty and in memory of Betty."
Noting the settlement and the division of the statutory €35,000 mental distress payment, Ms Justice Leonie Reynolds expressed her condolences to the Carroll family.
