A man who claimed an eight-month delay in diagnosing that he suffered from prostate cancer has reduced his life expectancy by several years secured €45,000 damages at the High Court yesterday.
Mr David Philip (55), an accountant and financial adviser, had claimed he could have a longer life expectancy had he been diagnosed earlier and received appropriate treatment. He had sued the Bon Secours Hospital in Cork and Mr Peter Ryan, a consultant urologist attached to the hospital. Both defendants denied negligence and breach of duty.
At the time of his admission to the Bon Secours Hospital in Cork in June 2001, Mr Philip, of Cleveland, England, was visiting his wife's home in Midleton, Co Cork. He also lived in Saudi Arabia for a period in 2001.
At the time he was suffering from urinary difficulties. Mr Philip's GP had noted that the prostate was extra sensitive and he was referred to Mr Ryan.
While denying negligence, both defendants pleaded contributory negligence by Mr Philip for allegedly failing to have a serum PSA measurement carried out in the Middle East in August 2001 when directed by Mr Ryan to do so and failing to make contact with Mr Ryan between July 12th and December 12th, 2001. They also pleaded he had failed to provide an address so that he could be communicated with promptly.
Mr Justice Peart said he could not award compensation in relation to the pain and suffering associated with the treatment Mr Philip received since that was something he would have had to undergo in any event. But Mr Ryan's diagnosis was negligently wrong in the sense that it was a breach of duty of care.