A WOMAN who had both legs amputated above the knee has settled a High Court action against her GP over alleged negligence in his treatment of her. The settlement was made yesterday without admission of liability, and no details were revealed to the court.
Catherine Blake (62), of Cashel Court, Cashel, Clonmel, Co Tipperary, had taken the action against Dr Gerard Sullivan, practising at Mary Street Medical Centre, Clonmel, Co Tipperary, alleging negligence and breach of duty of care. He denied the claims.
The court was told Ms Blake had been involved in an accident at Dell in Limerick on February 5th, 1998, while she was sitting on two crates during a power failure. It was claimed the crates fell backwards and she had struck her head on the floor and had a lot of trouble with her lower back.
Ms Blake attended Dr Sullivan in relation to pain in her legs and difficulty walking. She claimed Dr Sullivan failed adequately or at all to advise and treat her and failed to make a proper diagnosis. Due to those alleged failures, she said, her condition deteriorated and she had to undergo amputations.
It was claimed Dr Sullivan failed to heed her complaints of July 2000 of symptoms that may have been associated with deep-vein thrombosis. She claimed Dr Sullivan diagnosed thrombophlebitis in September 2000 but failed to follow that up and failed to exclude the possibility of deep-vein thrombosis. She also claimed he failed to treat her with the urgency she deserved.
Dr Sullivan denied he had failed to adequately advise or treat Ms Blake or make a proper diagnosis. He also denied negligence.