THE HIGH Court has awarded almost €1.6 million in damages to the widow and family of a farmer who died as a result of negligence in his treatment for colitis at University College Hospital, Galway.
Most of the award arose due to loss of an expected €1.5 million inheritance of the man’s mother’s farm in circumstances where, after he died, his mother altered a will that initially had left the 623-acre farm to him so as to ultimately leave it to her daughter.
Grace Davoren, a mother of four from The Barn, Ballyalben, Ballyvaughan, Co Clare, had sued the Health Service Executive (Western Area), consultant gastroenterologist John Lee and consultant surgeon Oliver McAnena following the death of her husband Michael (47) on August 31st, 2003.
The defendants did not contest liability in relation to Mr Davoren’s treatment.
Ms Davoren had claimed, under Part 4 of the Civil Liability Act, 1961, that as well as being entitled to damages for loss of dependency, she also lost out on the expected €1.5 million inheritance of her husband’s family’s farm due to his death.
She said her husband was an only son who had worked on the family farm, Ballyalben, all his life and was due to inherit it. The couple also ran their own 269-acre farm, Ballycahill, adjoining the Ballyalben farm.
Following his death, relations between Grace Davoren and her mother-in-law, Maura Davoren, deteriorated and the latter changed her will so that it benefited her grandson, also named Michael.
Maura Davoren subsequently changed the will again and, upon her death her entire estate, including the Ballyalben farm, passed to her daughter, Mary O’Regan.
Grace Davoren had claimed that if her husband had not died before his mother, the farm would have been left to her family.
In his judgment yesterday, Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O’Neill awarded Ms Davoren and her family €1,591,957.70 in damages after finding he was satisfied Michael Davoren would have inherited the Ballyalben farm if he had not suffered wrongful death.
The judge rejected an argument by the defendants it was probably the falling out between Grace Davoren and her mother-in-law that had caused them to lose out on the inheritance of the estate.
Even if the falling-out was the cause of Maura Davoren changing her will, this was directly due to a change in her state of mind caused by the wrongful death of her son, the judge said.
He was satisfied Michael Davoren’s dependants would have inherited the estate of Maura Davoren if it was not for his wrongful death.
He ruled Grace Davoren was entitled to €1,312,275 for the loss of inheritance of the estate of Maura Davoren as well as €184,271 to cover the loss of income from farming the Ballyalben farm following Maura Davoren’s death.
He awarded another €50,436, representing half of the loss of rental income of the family home, on the basis the family would have moved into the Ballyalben house after inheriting and rented out their own home.
General damages, including the cost of funeral and other expenses, were assessed at €44,975.79.