Medics missed tragic granny’s broken ribs
A GRANDMOTHER was told by hospital staff she was ‘the luckiest woman in Ireland’ to have fallen down the stairs without breaking a rib – but she later died of sepsis arising from seven broken ribs that doctors had failed to spot.
St Luke’s Hospital in Kilkenny apologised yesterday to the family of Christina McGagh, 75, who died from complications arising from her undiagnosed injuries.
The HSE admitted liability for her death, and the case was settled for €265,000 in the High Court.
Patrick Treacy SC said Mrs McGagh had fallen down the stairs at her home in Ballon, Co. Carlow, on October 31, 2012. She was taken by ambulance to St Luke’s Hospital and X-rays were carried out. It was suspected that she had a fracture of the thoracic spine. She was kept in for monitoring.
She continued to complain of pain in the right side of her chest, and her X-rays were examined again on November 1. But unfortunately, counsel said, it was concluded that she had not sustained any broken ribs. On November 5, she was diagnosed as having a compression fracture of her thoracic spine. On November 6, she again complained of right sided pain. It was noted that she could be suffering from sepsis, and she was given an antibiotic. An upper body brace was fitted the next day, but the diagnosis remained unchanged, the court heard. She was discharged on November 7.
Mr Treacy said that on November 26, she was admitted to Aut Even Hospital in Kilkenny, where a chest X-ray and CT showed a large build up of fluid on her lungs. She was transferred to St Luke’s again, but as her condition deteriorated she was taken to the Beacon Hospital in Dublin on December 1.
She was found to have fluid on her lungs, profound sepsis, acute renal failure and to have no less than seven rib fractures, with an underlying lung collapse. She remained in intensive care in the Beacon Hospital for almost four months, before she passed away on March 28, 2013.
Judge Kevin Cross expressed his sympathies to Mrs McGath’s husband, two daughters, three sons and six grandchildren. He formally approved the settlement. Outside court, Mrs McGagh’s son Tom said: ‘In St Luke’s, they kept telling her she was the luckiest woman in Ireland, falling downstairs without even breaking a rib.’