Pacemaker woman fell after hospital let her walk freely

A 58-YEAR-OLD woman fell and hit her head after a hospital negligently allowed her to walk freely around a ward after having her pacemaker removed, the High Court has ruled.

Concepta Anderson’s heart stopped briefly, leading to a blackout during which she struck her head off a sink, Judge Anthony Barr said.

He added that it was fortunate the mother-of-three had been in the toilet when her heart stopped, and not standing at the top of a flight of stairs, as she had been when she waved her husband, Francis, and daughters off after a visit.

A fall down the stairs could have resulted in paralysis or a brain injury, instead of the severe headaches, anxiety and scar on her forehead which she was left with, he said.

‘Allowing the plaintiff to ambulate freely... was in fact highly dangerous for her,’ Judge Barr said.

He awarded Ms Anderson, from Sooey, in Co. Sligo, a total of €60,000 in general damages, plus expenses of just over €3,000.

Judge Barr said Ms Anderson had attended St James Hospital in Dublin in May 2014 to have a replacement pacemaker inserted.

He said that her pacemaker, which she had worn since suffering a sudden collapse and loss of consciousness in 2003, was taken out on May 17, with a new permanent pacemaker due to be inserted within a couple of days.

The judge found no negligence in the doctors’ decision not to fit Ms Anderson with a temporary pacemaker during that time.

He said they had to balance the risk of Ms Anderson blacking out and falling, with the widely acknowledged risk of infection from a temporary pacemaker, and the more remote but acute risk of a wire perforating the heart during the operation, leading to death.

However, he said there was negligence in the management and care of Ms Anderson after her pacemaker was removed.

He said consultant cardiologist Dr Caroline Daly was ‘negligent in not ensuring that clear instructions were given to the nursing staff that the plaintiff was a falls risk, having regard to her previous history, and therefore that she should be confined to bed and only ambulate under supervision’.

This was not done, and she was exposed to a risk that became a reality in her fall at 11.18pm on May 18.

Assessing damages, he said that Ms Anderson had experienced a severe pain in her head following her fall. She had X-rays of her skull, but these were clear.

She also experienced headaches and a feeling of numbness in her head, due to nerve damage. Her scar is permanent, the judge said.

The issue of who will pay the legal costs will be decided next week.