Bid to stop blood transfusion had 'no role' in girl's death

The father of a teenage girl who died from head injuries following a road accident has said after an inquest that the family'…

The father of a teenage girl who died from head injuries following a road accident has said after an inquest that the family's bid to stop a blood transfusion on religious grounds played no role in his daughter's death.

Sarah O'Leary (15), Farnogue Park, Wexford, was made a ward of court by the High Court following an emergency application by Wexford General Hospital in November 2005. Her parents, Ray and Mary O'Leary, had refused to give permission for her to have an urgent blood transfusion as it was against their beliefs as Jehovah's Witnesses.

Outside court, Ray O'Leary, a Garda, said the inquest had found his daughter died from head injuries and the family's bid to stop a blood transfusion "played no role in her death".

Dublin City Coroner's Court heard yesterday that the junior certificate student was hit by a vehicle on November 4th, 2004 as she crossed the Wexford/Ferrycarrig Road with her friend, who was also injured in the accident.

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The Wexford hospital's legal team obtained a court order to allow doctors to administer the blood transfusion when her parents refused permission. She was transferred to Dublin's Beaumont Hospital the same day, but died there a week later from her injuries, the inquest heard.

A postmortem found that she died from head injuries and also sustained hip fractures.

Mr O'Leary called for a road traffic committee to be established in all of Ireland's larger towns. He said that speed limits needed to be reduced from 60km/h to 50km/h throughout the country, but legislation was needed to do this. If the speed limit was reduced nationally "this would have an effect on every town in the country", he said.

After the inquest, he added: "It's a matter of public safety versus planning. If Gay Byrne and the Road Safety Authority can help, they should."

The jury returned a verdict of accidental death. They recommended a reduction in the speed limit where the accident occurred from 60km/h to 50km/h; improved lighting in the area and a controlled pedestrian crossing on the road.