A family who sued over a grandfather of five’s death from sepsis at University Hospital Galway has settled their High Court action against the Health Service Executive (HSE).
Norbert Sheerin (73), Oranmore, Co Galway, died in September 2019 at the hospital where he had previously worked in the records department. Mr Sheerin’s family’s counsel Doireann O’Mahony BL, told the High Court it was their case that when Mr Sheerin was referred to the hospital emergency department by his GP in 2019, he should have had an MRI and other investigations. If that had happened, counsel said, a sepsis diagnosis would have been made, and Mr Sheerin could then have been treated with IV antibiotics and would have survived.
The settlement against the HSE is without an admission of liability and the court heard a full defence had been lodged in the case.
Counsel told the court it was their case that there was an alleged three-day delay in obtaining blood test results.
She said the blood tests showed significant inflammation and other markers for sepsis. Mr Sheerin, she said, deteriorated very suddenly and rapidly and died.
A postmortem found the primary cause of death was sepsis.
Mr Sheerin’s wife Angela and their daughter Audrey Murphy had sued the HSE.
In the proceedings it was claimed that a potential diagnosis of sepsis was made a shortly after Mr Sheerin arrived at the emergency department of the hospital on September 13th 2019 but it was then allegedly ignored or not acted upon.
There was, it was further claimed, an alleged failure to properly monitor Mr Sheerin and to act urgently on foot of his grossly abnormal blood test results.
It was also claimed that there was an alleged failure to make the diagnosis of sepsis earlier and an alleged failure to transfer Mr Sheerin to emergency surgical care earlier.
Mr Sheerin, it was contended, was allegedly deprived of a chance of survival.
All of the claims were denied.
Approving the settlement and the division of the €35,000 statutory mental distress payment, Mr Justice Paul Coffey said it was a very sad and tragic case, and he expressed his sincere sympathies to the widow and family.
© The Irish Times