A young girl is to receive a settlement of €690,000 after the High Court ruled that she suffered medical negligence before and after her birth in a Dublin hospital.
Seven-year-old Aisling Lenegan was born in December 2004 in Sligo General Hospital. After her birth she was diagnosed with heart problems and Down Syndrome.
Through her mother, Aisling has now sued both Our Ladies Children’s Hospital Crumlin and the HSE for medical negligence for failing to diagnose her problems quickly enough. In fact it took 5 months before the young girl received a cardiology review and that meant there was a wait before she received the appropriate medication.
Because of this delay, Aisling developed severe pulmonary hypertension, a heart condition, which is both severe and irreversible. She will now need care and medication for her entire life.
The defendants in the case denied the claims and the award was made without either of them accepting liability for the young girls current medical condition.
Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns, the President of the High Court approved the settlement and praised the family for providing such a high level of care to Aisling.
The family currently lives in Vienna but now that the settlement has been approved, they hope to move back to Ireland.
Patricia Lynch, Aisling’s mother, said she was glad the case was over and the settlement would hugely improve the quality of her daughter’s life. She also praised the personal injury solicitors who had helped her through the ordeal.