€25,000 for nursing home patient who was kicked and pushed

An 83-year-old woman, who was kicked twice in the legs and several times pushed forcefully back into her chair while being fed by a health carer at Beaumont Hospital, has been awarded €25,000 damages in the Circuit Civil Court.

Phyllis Byrne, now suffering from advanced dementia in a Co Wicklow nursing home, had, via daughter Maria Flanagan, sued Beaumont Hospital and CPL Resources and CPL Healthcare for €60,000 damages.

Barrister Michael Coen, who appeared with Thomas Loomes Solicitors for Ms Byrne, told the court she had been suffering from advanced dementia for up to 12 years and was 77 years old when the incident occurred in a private room at Beaumont in April 2011.