Holles Street pays damages over woman’s tragic death

THE National Maternity Hospital has agreed to pay ‘substantial’ damages to a grieving widower whose pregnant wife died during a botched routine operation that was dogged by a ‘cascade of negligence’ by doctors.

And yesterday Alan Thawley, 31, who took his 34-year-old wife Malak to the NMH at Holles Street for a simple procedure in May 2016 and never saw her again, said he wanted to be ‘the last person in Irish history who has to suffer what I suffered and continue to suffer today’.

He was forced to take the hospital to the High Court after its Master, Dr Rhona Mahony, told him that what happened to his wife was a mere ‘accident’, it was revealed in the High Court last Friday.

But Mr Thawley later realised her death was no accident and signed up lawyers to help him expose what he said amounted to ‘one act of negligence followed by another’ – including claims that the procedure was carried out by an unsupervised and inadequately trained junior doctor. The woman needed emergency treatment because her pregnancy was ectopic – meaning the unborn child was growing in her fallopian tube instead of her uterus.

In hospital, a surgical implement was inserted into her abdomen tore her aorta, the largest artery, located in the heart. She died after losing a massive ten units of blood.

Mr Thawley sought at least €420,000 for losing his wife, plus a bigger payout for ongoing ‘nervous shock’ arising from her death, as well as aggravated and exemplary damages.

The court heard from Liam Reidy SC yesterday who told Judge Anthony Barr: ‘The case is settled on terms that are comfortable to my client.’

The hospital’s counsel clarified that the settlement was ‘for compensatory damages only, not for aggravated or exemplary damages’.

Outside court, a visibly distraught Mr Thawley said: ‘The proceedings were brought forth to expose the cascade of negligence demonstrated by the hospital.’