Courtroom dismisses medical negligence declare towards Letterkenny breast clinic

A Excessive Courtroom ruling has discovered no medical negligence within the case of a lady who sued the HSE for an alleged delay in her breast most cancers prognosis.

Ms Catriona Crumlish (41) of St Finian’s Park, Moville, Co Donegal, sought damages for accidents she alleged have been brought on by docs at Letterkenny College Hospital failing to diagnose her breast most cancers in Could 2017. 

Ms Justice Mary Rose Gearty dominated that Ms Crumlish’s proof failed to ascertain that she had a 15mm most cancers in Could 2017, which she claimed was not detected till October.

Ms Crumlish’s proof was based mostly on an educational paper which analysed the expansion charge of breast tumours. The info introduced in that paper was strongly contested by the HSE. The plaintiff submitted that if her most cancers was identified earlier, she wouldn’t have had nodal elimination surgical procedure and wouldn’t have suffered associated adversarial results. Following chemotherapy, radiotherapy and a double mastectomy, Ms Crumlish is now cancer-free.

The choose dominated that Ms Crumlish’s cancerous tumour “in all probability was current in Could” however was “in all probability undetectable at that time”. She was initially referred to the Letterkenny breast clinic by her GP who felt two exhausting lumps on her proper breast – one comparable in dimension to a pea, the opposite to a peppercorn.

Ms Crumlish was examined on the hospital in Could 2017 by breast surgeon Mr Michael Sugrue, who famous a 15mm pea-sized lump and couldn’t palpate the smaller, peppercorn-sized lump. He then referred the affected person to radiology, the place Dr Conal Mac a Bhaird reported: “a number of small cysts as much as 12mm”. Mr Sugrue reassured the affected person that she had cysts and, whereas they could change dimension, she shouldn’t fear.

Ms Crumlish returned to LUH on ninth October 2017 following the invention of two extra lumps. On Thursday twelfth October 2017, Mr. Sugrue confirmed that the Plaintiff had HER2-positive breast most cancers.

The choose dominated that most of the techniques utilized by Mr Sugrue are exemplary. The proof additionally established that if the lump detected in Could was 15mm, it could in all probability have been apparent to the radiologist because it seemed nothing like a cyst.

The choose dismissed the suggestion, based mostly on the peer information on ‘doubling time’ of tumours, that the plaintiff’s most cancers would have been detectable in Could. Ms Justice Gearty stated the educational paper had limitations and could also be deceptive, as cancers develop at totally different charges. It was discovered that the affected person’s harm was in all probability brought on by an interval most cancers, i.e. a most cancers detected/presenting inside 12 months after a mammographic screening.

The court docket dominated on Tuesday, 18th April, that every one authorized prices are to be paid by the plaintiff.

Courtroom dismisses medical negligence declare towards Letterkenny breast clinic was final modified: April twentieth, 2023 by Workers Author