A father-to-be, who fainted and injured himself in a hospital delivery suite while his wife was having a baby, has sued the Health Service Executive for up to €38,000 damages.
Co Leitrim storeman Hugh Feehily, Drumlease, Dromahair, told the Circuit Civil Court yesterday he broke his jaw when he collapsed and hit the floor of the labour room in Sligo General Hospital.
Alistair Rutherdale, for Mr Feehily, said his client claimed that when the incident happened on March 6th, 1997, the hospital's accident and emergency department, where he was treated after his fall, had failed to detect that his jaw was broken.
Mr Feehily, whose case started out in the High Court before being remitted to the Circuit Civil Court, alleged that as a result of not being X-rayed immediately, he had been suffered additional severe pain "10 times worse than toothache."
He told Mr Justice Esmond Smyth that after an A&E doctor had found he had a loose tooth, he had been prescribed painkillers and advised to visit his dentist. The following day his dentist had carried out an X-ray which revealed a fractured jaw.
Mr Feehily said the painkillers had failed to work for him and he had suffered severe pain for several days until an operation to fix the fracture had been carried out in St James's Hospital, Dublin, on March 14th.
Emily Farrell, for the HSE, told the court that Mr Feehily had been offered an X-ray by the doctor but had refused it because his wife was distressed and he had wanted to be with her.
In a day-long hearing, medical experts presented the court with opposing views as to the adequacy of care and medical treatment Mr Feehily had received in the A&E department. The HSE, which denies Mr Feehily's claim of negligence and breach of duty, is expected to complete its evidence today.