Woman with locked-in syndrome settles High Court action with €3.7m payout

Lynsey Cribbin was 21 years old in 2012 when she was brought to Cavan General Hospital after she woke up with a headache, feeling unwell and had nausea

Lynsey Cribbin pictured in 2013 with her parents, Peter and Catherine and her nephew Kyle. File picture

A woman who has been living with locked-in syndrome for the last 14 years has settled with an interim €3.7m payout, an action over the care she received after she was first brought to hospital with a pounding headache.

Lynsey Cribbin was 21 years old in 2012 when she was brought to Cavan General Hospital after she woke up with the headache, feeling unwell and had nausea. For the last 14 years she can only communicate through eye movements and has to use a wheelchair and is peg fed (fed directly into the stomach through a small, flexible tube), the High Court heard on Friday.

The now 36-year old from Finea, Co Cavan, had sued the HSE and Beaumont Hospital over the care she received after she presented at Cavan General Hospital on January 19, 2012. The settlement, which reflects a one third discount, is without an admission of liability.

Her counsel, Liam Reidy SC with James Devlin SC, told the court Lynsey had woken up on January 19, 2012 with a pounding headache and felt unwell and had nausea. It was also noticed that she was staring in one eye. An ambulance was called.

Counsel said Lynsey was brought to Cavan General Hospital where an MRI was carried out. Mr Reidy said it was their case that the MRI was allegedly misinterpreted and that an acute infarction which required immediate treatment was not identified.

By the time Lynsey was transferred to Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, counsel said she could not be treated. It was also their case that if Lynsey had been transferred sooner she could have had a procedure and would have made a reasonable recovery.

Lynsey has locked-in syndrome and is paraplegic, said Mr Reidy, explaining that she is cognitively aware but can’t communicate verbally; she has to communicate with her family members with her eyes.

Lynsey was in court with her parents, Peter and Catherine and extended family for the ruling of the interim settlement.

In the proceedings against the HSE, it was claimed there was a failure to interpret appropriately an MRI scan performed in Cavan General Hospital on the afternoon of January 19, 2012.

It was also claimed there was a failure to diagnose Lynsey with an acute stroke on the afternoon of January 19, 2012, and a failure to manage Lynsey as an acute stroke following on from  the MRI scan.

Against Beaumont Hospital, it was claimed there was a failure to recommend an adequate treatment plan in the afternoon or early evening of January 19, 2012, for Lynsey given she had suffered an acute stroke.

It was also claimed there was a failure to advise Cavan General Hospital that Lynsey should immediately be seen by a stroke doctor. All the claims were denied.

Approving the settlement, Mr Justice Paul Coffey said it was a very sad and tragic case. He said it had been an extremely traumatic experience for all involved and he praised the Cribbin family for the extraordinary care they have given their daughter.

“I know a hard road lies ahead, but I wish you good fortune,” the judge said.

The case will come back before the courts in 2030 when Lynsey’s future care needs will be assessed.