Hospital ‘sorry’ for boy’s brain damage

University Hospital Waterford has apologised in court to a six-year-old boy left brain damaged just before his second birthday after the High Court heard there was a “profound misdiagnosis “ of his chickenpox infection.

Eoghan Keating, who cannot talk and is tetraplegic, yesterday settled his action against the HSE for an interim sum of €2.5m. His counsel told the High Court there was a profound misdiagnosis when he had infectious chicken pox. The boy later suffered a brain injury of the most profound kind, counsel Liam Reidy said.

University Hospital Waterford general manager Richard Dooley in a statement read to the High Court apologised on behalf of the management and staff for “the deficiencies in the care provided to Eoghan at the hospital on August 24, 2012”.