A widow has received an apology in the High Court over “inadequate” medical care provided to her husband who took his own life at the age of 56 after suffering with a rapid-onset spinal condition.
The court heard Stephen McCarthy, a plumber, suffered a back injury in September 2015 lifting a heavy object at work and went on to develop cauda equina, which is a rapid onset syndrome caused by the compression of nerve roots in the lumbar spine.
If not spotted quickly, the syndrome can cut off lower body sensation, affect control of the bladder and bowel, and lead to irreversible paralysis.
Damages claims brought by Mr McCarthy were reconstituted in the name of his widow, Eileen McCarthy, after he died. She settled the cases on confidential terms on Wednesday.
Her senior counsel, Barney Quirke, instructed by Tiernan & Company Solicitors, told the court Mr McCarthy “suffered greatly” before he “succumbed to his illness” and took his own life in February 2022.
Ms McCarthy alleged Dr Ali Almareji, the GP who visited her husband at home twice in the days following the accident, failed to take a proper history and to properly examine him. She claimed the GP was told Mr McCarthy had back pain, had lost sensation around his perineum, had pain radiating down both his legs, and that he had been unable to pass urine.
She alleged the GP diagnosed muscle pain in his lower back when he visited Mr McCarthy at home on September 3rd, 2015, and referred him to hospital for sciatica after examining him two days later.
Ms McCarthy claimed that a proper clinical examination would have raised the possibility of bilateral sciatica which, in turn, raises the risk of cauda equina.
Dr Ali Almareji issued an apology, which was read out in court on Wednesday by the doctor’s senior counsel, Declan Buckley.
The GP said he “apologise[s] for and deeply regret[s] the inadequate standard of care” provided to Mr McCarthy. He extended his sympathies to Ms McCarthy and her family.
Ms McCarthy, of Kiltalawan Heights, Tallaght, sued Dr Almareji and Dublin-based Mediserve Homecare Limited, with which the doctor practises, seeking damages for alleged nervous shock and loss arising from alleged clinical negligence.
She also sued J&D O’Brien, his former employer, over the alleged injuries said to have originated from him having lifted a heat pump over rought ground on a construction site in Churchtown, south Dublin, on September 1st, 2015. She alleged the firm failed to provide a safe system of work for her husband.
The company denied the claims and made no admissions of liability.
In her proceedings alleging medical negligence, Ms McCarthy claimed her late husband should have been asked about his bowel and bladder function after he indicated he was numb around his perineum, which she said is “highly suggestive of cauda equina”.
Once numbness was assessed, Mr McCarthy should have been referred to hospital as an emergency, she claimed.
Instead, she claimed, the doctor advised him over the phone on September 5th that he could go to the hospital within two to three days if his symptoms continued.
She said they instead attended Tallaght Hospital that evening and were advised immediately by the triage nurse that his symptoms sounded like cauda equina. If he had been diagnosed earlier, he could have been relieved at an earlier stage if properly assessed and treated, she alleged.
Mr Quirke said the court needed to make an order permitting a €35,000 statutory payment to be paid to Ms McCarthy.
Mr Justice Tony O’Connor made the orders sought and expressed his sympathies to Ms McCarthy, adding: “No words can capture what you had to go through.”
