Woman barred from suing disgraced obstetrician

A lawsuit taken by a patient of disgraced former Drogheda obstetrician Dr Michael Neary was dismissed in the Supreme Court today.

Rosemary Cunningham, from Corlea, Kingscourt, Cavan, had won the right to sue Dr Neary in the High Court last year for removing her left ovary in 1991.

But in the Supreme Court today, Justice Niall Fennelly said the claim was statute barred and dismissed the case.

Ms Cunningham took her case against Dr Neary in March 2002, four years after she made an initial complaint about him to the Medical Council. Justice Fennelly said the three-year period to take legal action had passed when she made this complaint and that, consequently, her claim was out of time.

Ms Cunningham had her fallopian tube removed in 1991 in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, Co Louth by Dr Leary after a ruptured ectopic pregnancy. She was told by Dr Neary afterwards that he had also removed her left ovary.

She discussed the operation with her GP, who told her she was lucky to be alive and that the removal of the ovary had been necessary.

In October 1998 Ms Cunningham was admitted to the Coombe Hospital in Dublin for a hysterectomy and met a nurse there who encouraged her to complain about her 1991 operation to the medical council.

Ms Cunningham said she was still upset about the extreme rudeness Dr Neary had displayed when she asked him why he removed her ovaries.

She claimed he told her: “I did not like your bloody ovaries anyway,” and that “by church law, I should not have laid a finger on you and you should be six feet under. I saved your life and you should be grateful.”

Ms Cunningham only learned for the first time that the removal of the ovaries was unnecessary in April 2001 when she received a report from an independent expert obstetrician, Dr Richard Porter.

Justice Fennelly said that while Ms Cunningham was entitled to rely on the advice of her GP, who said the operation was necessary, the question was whether she took all reasonable steps to obtain advice and act on it.

“If the plaintiff had gone to a solicitor in December 1998 (after she made the medical council complaint), she would have obtained the sort of advice which would have made out a case of negligence against the defendant,” said Justice Fennelly.

Dr Michael Neary was struck off the doctors’ register by the medical council in July 2003. He was found guilty of professional misconduct for removing the wombs of 10 patients.

Alison Gough, a former patient who had her womb removed by Dr Neary, was awarded €273,000 in court in 2002. In May this year another woman whose womb was removed by Dr Neary during the birth of her first and only child, was awarded €425,000.

More than 60 former patients are believed to be suing Mr Neary in total but many of them may also be judged to be statute barred after today’s verdict.

Counsel for Dr Neary informed the court that his client disputed Ms Cunningham’s version of events.