Michael Boylan Litigation secured €990,000 in damages for a client who, as a result of clinical negligence, underwent multiple surgical procedures and ultimately had a kidney removed.
Our client attended the emergency department of her local hospital with generalised abdominal pain and vomiting. Her urine tested positive for blood and protein — a known red flag for a kidney stone — and her estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was low. A provisional diagnosis of appendicitis, colitis and kidney stone was made, an abdominal x-ray was performed, and she was discharged home for follow-up with her GP. The x-ray was reported as showing no obstruction, perforation or calcification — but in fact a kidney stone in her mid-left ureter was visible on it and was not reported.
Our client continued to suffer persistent left-sided abdominal pain and was referred back to the emergency department by her GP. On a later attendance, an ultrasound revealed significant hydronephrosis of the left kidney with a markedly dilated ureter and an obstructing stone, and a CT scan confirmed the diagnosis — some eight months after the initial x-ray was misread. She was transferred to a Dublin hospital for surgery.
Our client underwent nine surgical procedures, including laser fragmentation of the stones and multiple stenting and nephrostomy procedures, before eventually undergoing a laparoscopic removal of her left kidney. The events have had life-altering consequences: she suffers chronic fatigue, mobility issues and psychological distress, and has been able to return only to part-time employment, sustaining an ongoing loss of income.
We instructed independent expert consultants in urology and radiology, who determined that our client had suffered a breach of the duty of care and that those failings had directly caused her nine procedures and the loss of her kidney. Because her injuries were complex and extensive, we also instructed specialised experts in care, occupational therapy, psychology and employment to ensure the full extent of her harm was accounted for.
Proceedings were issued against the HSE and were defended, but shortly before trial the defendant requested settlement negotiations. The case settled at mediation for its full value of €990,000 plus costs.
