Condition blinded garda, court hears

A GARDA sergeant has claimed he has been left blind due to a failure to promptly diagnose a serious infection of the eye linked to wearing contact lenses.

Niall Fitzpatrick, 47, from Boher, Co Limerick, has launched a High Court medical negligence action against the HSE and consultant eye specialist Raymond Niland. The defendants deny the claims.

Mr Fitzpatrick was on the brink of being promoted to head of a Garda drugs squad when he contracted the condition in 2005.

Liam Reidy SC, for Mr Fitzpatrick, said the first symptoms emerged in June 2005, and that three months later his eyesight had deteriorated dramatically.

He said Mr Fitzpatrick was seen on 11 occasions from when he first met with an ophthalmic registrar after visiting &Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick on June 12, 2005, until he was admitted to hospital on September 8, 2005.

He claimed doctors continued to treat him for viral keratitis when it turned out to be acanthamoeba keratitis (AK), a serious corneal infection usually affecting contact lens wearers.

On September 8, at Mid-West Regional, Mr Niland asked two colleagues to review Mr Fitzpatrick. Both immediately diagnosed AK, the court was told. Swabs were sent to London and AK was diagnosed.

Mr Reidy said an earlier diagnosis would have allowed Mr Fitzpatrick to make a full recovery. Now he can just make out where windows are in a room.

The case continues.