Family of 'amazing mother', 46, who died days after routine operation settles action
Shauna McCabe outside the Four Courts on Wednesday. "Our lives were changed forever,” she said. Photo: Collins Courts
The family of a mother of three who died of a blood clot nine days after a varicose veins operation at a Dublin hospital has settled a High Court action over her death.
Karen McCabe (46), a week after the operation, had pains in her legs and went back to the Bon Secours Hospital but the High Court heard the junior doctor who wanted to admit her for tests did not have admitting privileges and her consultant was on holiday and she was discharged home. The settlement is against two hospitals and a vascular consultant.
The McCabe family counsel, Bruce Antoniotti SC with Sara Antoniotti BL, told the court it was their case Ms McCabe’s vascular consultant Austin Leahy who had carried out the vein operation was allegedly ‘incommunicado” as he was on holiday where there was poor phone coverage.
Counsel said the protocol at the time in the hospital was that a doctor had to be a consultant to admit a patient and arrange for tests. Counsel said the junior doctor did the best he could and attempts were made to contact Professor Leahy “but the place he was in did not have phone cover.”
Attempts, Counsel said, were made to contact another consultant but “it sounds odd and strange but this is what happened”, she was discharged home.
It was very distressing for the McCabe family, Counsel said, to think that if Ms McCabe had been admitted to the Bon Secours Hospital as the junior doctor wanted to do on August 13, 2014, she would not have died.
He said Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) is a recognised complication of the varicose vein procedure and it was their case some arrangement should have been in place in relation to Ms McCabe.
The mother of three the next day who was in pain and unable to walk, went to the Beaumont Hospital A&E and she died on August 14, 2014.
In 2016, a verdict of medical misadventure was returned at the inquest into the death of Ms McCabe. The inquest heard she died from a pulmonary embolism. She had a deep vein thrombosis and a blood clot travelled from her leg to her lung.
The inquest was told that under measures introduced at the hospital in the wake of Ms McCabe’s death, the first option now is to contact the primary consultant, followed by the second consultant and, failing that, patients can be referred to a medical assessment unit or Beaumont hospital A&E.
In the High Court, Mrs McCabes’ husband Michael and their three children Shauna (20), Conor (17) and Callum (15) of Bewley Drive, Lucan, Dublin, had sued Bon Secours Health System Ltd which manages the Bon Secours Hospital, Glasnevin, Dublin; Professor Austin Leahy a vascular surgeon at the Bon Secours Hospital and Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, and Beaumont Hospital.
The settlement in all cases, which was reached after mediation, was without an admission of liability. The court heard full defences were filed by all three defendants. Shauna McCabe in a statement read out in court said her mother died after what was a routine operation.
“Myself and my brothers were left without our amazing mother. My father was left without the love of his life. Our lives were changed forever,” she said.
She added: “We as a family are comforted that policies have changed in the Bon Secours Hospital in the wake of our mother’s death. New arrangements have been put in place and never again will a patient be refused admission when a consultant is unavailable.”
No amount of money, she said, “can bring our mother home “ and she said the settlement was reached after a long legal battle. Noting the settlement Mr Justice Paul Coffey extended his deepest sympathy to Ms McCabe’s family in what he called a very sad and tragic case.
Mrs McCabe had in April 2014 attended with Prof. Leahy for advice and treatment of symptomatic varicose veins. In August, Ms McCabe had the varicose veins surgical procedure at the Bon Secours Hospital and was discharged home the same day.
Seven days later on August 12, 2014, she had significant leg pain and phoned the hospital for advice and further painkilling medication. She was advised to attend the hospital the following day if the pain persisted.
On August 13, she phoned the hospital again complaining of persistent leg pain which had not improved. She was advised to come to the hospital for review and there it was claimed differential diagnoses, including deep vein thrombosis, were made and the examining doctor planned to admit her to the hospital for tests.
However, due to protocols at the time the non-consultant doctor was unable to admit Ms McCabe and she was discharged home.
The next day on August 14 she went to Beaumont Hospital after 9pm and it is claimed she was admitted to a ward at 4.45am. Five hours later she became unconscious and later had a cardiac arrest and died.
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