Apology and €500,000 payment over unexpected death of woman (33)

13 August 2021

The HSE and Midland Regional Hospital has apologised for the death of a 33-year old woman following an operation. 

The apology was read to the High Court under a settlement, which incuded a payment of €500,000, of an action by the family of Suzanne Hannon over her death in 2014 following an intestine procedure.

Midland Regional Hospital manager Kay Slevin said: “On behalf of the HSE and the hospital, I would like to sincerely apologise to you and your family for the tragic death of Suzanne. Suzanne was a young wife and mother whose death following an elective surgical procedure was unexpected.”

Peter Bland SC said the case related to the tragic death of Ms Hannon, whose son was aged just seven at the time. Liability had been admitted in the case. James Hannon, of Croghan, Co Offaly, sued the HSE over the death of his wife on September 13th, 2014.

In an affidavit, Mr Hannon said his wife had a history of Crohn’s disease and, in the period prior to her death, had been admitted to the hospital with acute abdominal pain. 

She was reviewed in the clinic on a number of dates and had a colonoscopy at the end of August 2014 and underwent surgery on September 1st, 2014. Despite her condition, it was decided to perform an anastomosis, he said.

He claimed she suffered a leak following that procedure and there was a delay in recognising this until September 4th, by which time she was suffering from sepsis. Another procedure was carried out but she continued to deteriorate and died on September 13th, 2014.

Approving the settlement, Mr Justice Kevin Cross said offered his sincere sympathy to the family.

Follow us for the latest updates & news

Recent News

Northern Ireland exam board boss wins £100,000 settlement

Northern Ireland’s Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) has paid a substantial settlement to its former interim chief executive who complained of sex, race and age discrimination and constructive dismissal. The sum paid to Margaret Farragher,...

Catriona Crumlish v Health Service Executive – Court of Appeal

On Oct. 15th, The Court of Appeal upheld the High Court decision against Caitriona Crumlish in her claim against Letterkenny University hospital. The plaintiff alleged that there was a failure to detect and diagnose breast cancer in May 2017 resulting in an alleged...

Recent Articles

Psychological Injury

Nervous Shock I The law allows recovery of damages for so called nervous shock, within certain parameters and subject to limitations.  Nervous shock is the most commonly used legal label for psychiatric or psychological injury. Psychiatric injuries include...

Public Authorities and Negligence

Powers and Duties In broad terms, public authorities are subject to civil liability for negligence and other civil wrongs, in the same way as private individuals and companies.  The State and other public bodies are responsible for the actions and omissions of...

Duty of Care (Part 2)

Limits to Neighbour Principle The famous neighbour principle re-stated the general basis of liability in negligence. It stated, that “you must take reasonable care to avoid acts or omissions which you can reasonably foresee would be likely to injure your...

Duty of Care (Part 1)

Meaning of Negligence I Negligence is used in a number of senses.  In one sense, it refers to a person’s state of mind.  An act is negligent, where it is done without giving due weight to the risks involved.  A person  (and his state of mind) may...

Join our Panel

You May Also Like...