'People should not have to battle like this': Husband settles lengthy fight over wife's cervical cancer death

The court heard the woman's son could not cope after she died and he took his own life on a Mother’s Day

Mother of four Maria Fitzpatrick from Collinstown, Co Westmeath, was only 38 years of age when she died of complications due to cervical cancer in 2009.

“People should not have to battle like this,” a grieving husband has said outside the Four Courts as his protracted legal fight over his wife’s death from cervical cancer was settled.

Kevin Fitzpatrick said the loss of his wife Maria left a profound absence and “raised painful questions about the responsibility safety and duty of care owed to every patient.” 

He added: “The long delays, the unanswered questions and the slow progress towards justice only deepened our grief. We had a long battle and this should not happen. They didn't break us."

Mother of four Maria Fitzpatrick from Collinstown, Co Westmeath, was only 38 years of age when she died of complications due to cervical cancer in 2009.

In the High Court on Wednesday, Portiuncula University Hospital which tested two of Mrs Fitzpatrick’s smear tests in 2004 and 2005 acknowledged that there was a missed opportunity to diagnose her cancer at an earlier stage.

In a letter read to the court as the settlement of the Fitzpatrick’s family’s action over her death was announced, the hospital general manager James Keane expressed sincere condolences on the sad death of Mrs Fitzpatrick.

“The hospital acknowledges that there was a missed opportunity to diagnose Maria’s cancer at an earlier stage which ultimately led to her death. We are sorry this occurred. We understand that this statement cannot change or negate your loss but we wish to convey our deepest sympathy to you and your family,” it added.

The Fitzpatrick’s family counsel, Liam Reidy SC instructed by Callan Tansey Solicitors, told the court the two smears had been misreported and if they had been correctly reported Mrs Fitzpatrick would have got treatment for early stage cancer and would be alive today.

Mr Fitzpatrick from the witness box told Mr Justice Paul Coffey his son Darren, who was 10 years old when his mother died, could not cope afterwards and he took his own life on a Mother’s Day and just days before the ninth anniversary of Maria’s death.

He said he hoped the settlement of the action, which he initiated after the publicity surrounding the Vicky Phelan case, would bring some sort of closure.

He told the judge: 

An apology is only words, it doesn’t bring back the life, love and a mother to her children.

Mrs Fitzpatrick’s husband, Kevin Fitzpatrick of Gillardstown, Collinstown, Co Westmeath, had sued the HSE over the death of his wife Maria Fitzpatrick on March 13, 2009.

A smear sample examined at Portiuncula Hospital in September 2004, was described as difficult to assess when it was claimed it was an adequate sample, capable of assessment.

It was further claimed there was an alleged failure to spend sufficient time reviewing the smear sample and an alleged failure to have regard to the fact that the September 1, 2004, smear sample contained many groups of abnormal cells.

It was also claimed there was a failure in relation to the 2005 test to advise that the report was limited by no endocervical component and Mrs Fitzpatrick’s death, it was claimed, had been hastened.

Noting the settlement and the division of the statutory mental distress payment of €35,000, Mr Justice Paul Coffey said it was a sad and tragic case and he extended his heartfelt sympathy to Mr Fitzpatrick and his family on their double tragedy.

Accountability

Outside court Mr Fitzpatrick, flanked by the extended family, said, unfortunately, they were forced to pursue a legal route for accountability.

“We carry Maria and Darren's memory forward by continuing to stand for truth for safe medical practice and for systems that ensure preventable tragedies are not repeated,” he said.

“It is our fervent wish that no other family is forced to pursue the same legal route that we have endured, that lessons will be learned and the powers that be ensure that the need for transparency improves standards of care, and timely accountability within the healthcare system are assured. 

"Accountability in healthcare matters, because families depend on trust, and when the trust is broken the consequences are life-changing."