High Court approves €385,000 award to family of man pierced through heart
The High Court has approved a settlement of €385,000 to the family of a 65-year-old man who was pierced through the heart during a post-operative procedure at the Blackrock Clinic.
English teacher Art Ridge from Mohill in Leitrim underwent successful cardiac surgery at the hospital in December 2005 but died five days later when a registrar used excessive force inserting a forceps during a chest drain.
The clinic has made no admission of liability but the registrar Ramy Alnahhal admits the facts.
Avril Ridge says the family were in utter shock when they got news of her father’s death: "He was doing great and the next thing we got a call to say he had died. We couldn’t believe it…We were in utter shock.
She said it was "nerve-wracking taking on a big hospital".
