Mother sues State over retention of child’s organ without consent

A MOTHER whose child’s organs were retained by a hospital without her consent has been given High Court leave to sue the State over its handling of the scandal.

If successful, the case could expose the State to a flood of claims. Five other parents are preparing similar claims.

The State had tried to have the case the first case of its kind struck out on a number of grounds.

The mother is claiming Health Minister Micheál Martin and Attorney General Rory Brady breached legitimate expectations that there would be an adequate inquiry into the issue. The British Government is also facing similar lawsuits over an organ-retention scandal in hospitals there.

The development comes as the Dunne Inquiry, which does not have the power to compel witnesses or seek documents, is due to present its first report within the next few months.

The private inquiry, which began its work in early 2001, and has already cost taxpayers almost €8 million to date, could drag on for years.

In October 2002, Parents for Justice, which represents 800 families affected by the scandal, withdrew from the inquiry, claiming it was ineffective because it was not on a statutory footing and was being conducted in private.

Spokesperson Fionnuala O'Reilly said the mother who was taking the case had based her claim on assurances that the Minister for Health gave to around 500 families in a Dublin hotel in May 2000.

At the time, he assured parents that the inquiry would work in their interests and he was confident it would obtain all the answers they had sought to date.

Crucially, he also told parents that if the inquiry was found to be defective in any way by him, by Ms Dunne or by Parents for Justice it would be converted into a statutory inquiry. "We have those assurances on tape and in writing and believed we were part of a threesome who had a say in the inquiry," she said.

"If we have to bring member by member through the court process, we will, because most of our members are in favour of doing that," she said.

An attempt to bring a High Court action in the name of Parents for Justice, so that no member would be subjected to the stresses of appearing in court was opposed by the State.

Ms O'Reilly was also very sceptical of a new information helpline being co-ordinated by the Eastern Regional Health Authority to provide an opportunity for families to find out if the organs of deceased loved ones had been retained by hospitals.

"I just wonder has the helpline anything to do with the possibility that the Dunne Inquiry may be encountering difficulties in obtaining co-operation from various hospitals, the health boards and other personnel.

"Are they looking for people to come forward to build a bigger picture?"

The new helpline (1800 454500) will be operational from Tuesday during office hours. Each health board and hospital will have a liaison officer to help families.