A father of three, paraplegic after allegedly being unnecessarily operated upon to remove a tumour from his spinal cord, has settled his High Court action without admission of liability.
John Daly (61), an accountant from Stoneville, Rathkeale, Co Limerick, who is effectively confined to a wheelchair, had claimed an alleged failure in late 2001 to diagnose that he had non-Hodgkins lymphoma meant he was operated upon when he could, it was claimed, have been treated without surgery.
He has sued the Mid-Western Health Board, consultant neurosurgeon Dr John Marks (of the Cork Clinic, Western Road, Cork, who performed surgery on Mr Daly on December 14th, 2001) and Dr Alex Stafford (a consultant radiologist at Barringtons' Hospital in Limerick) alleging negligence in his treatment.
The case opened on Tuesday before Mr Justice John Edwards but, after talks between the sides yesterday, the judge was told by Mr Denis McCullough SC, for Mr Daly, that the action was settled without admission of liability.
On consent of the various sides, the judge struck out the proceedings against the Mid-Western Health Board and Dr Stafford with no orders and made an order for costs, including all reserved costs, against Dr Marks.
Edward Walsh SC, for Dr Stafford, said he wished to make clear that Dr Stafford was out of the action and Mr McCullough said that was correct.
Mr Justice Edwards said he was pleased the proceedings had been settled. He also made an order striking out a notice brought by Dr Stafford for indemnity and contribution.
In opening the case, Mr McCullough said his client was referred to Dr Marks in December 2001 as a result of back pain he was suffering and underwent a number of scans and X-rays, at both Limerick Regional Hospital and at Barringtons.
It was Mr Daly's claim he was informed he had a tumour on his spine which was benign.
As a result, he was referred to Dr Marks and came under his care on December 13th. The operation was performed 24 hours later.
After the operation, Mr Daly was not able to move his legs, counsel said.
In late December, he was referred to a specialist oncologist. He was told he had cancer and underwent chemotherapy in 2002. He is currently in remission.
Counsel submitted Mr Daly did not require surgery to treat the tumour and his illness should have been dealt with by other treatments such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
The court was told Mr Daly has no power in his legs and suffers a number of other health problems, including back pain.
It was claimed that his quality of life has suffered, that there is little prospect for recovery and that he is dependent on others for day-to-day living.