The Health Service Executive has been accused of compounding the grief of the family of a nine-year-old girl who died in 2004 three weeks after an appendix operation at Cavan General Hospital.
The accusation was levelled at Cavan Coroner's Court yesterday when it sat to open a second inquest into the death of Cootehill girl Frances Sheridan.
However the inquest did not open because legal representatives for the HSE made an application for the Cavan coroner, Dr Mary Flanagan, to stand aside, given that she had already heard an inquest into the child's death and had directed the jury in a particular way on that occasion.
The first inquest concluded in December and a jury returned a verdict of death by natural causes. Dr Flanagan had earlier suggested to the jury that such a verdict would not be appropriate.
The Sheridan family were unhappy with the verdict and through their solicitor appealed to the Attorney General to direct a new inquest to be held.
The Attorney General recently directed Dr Flanagan to hold a new inquest - which rarely happens - and the new inquest was due to get under way yesterday.
At the outset of proceedings yesterday, Dr Flanagan said she received correspondence late on Monday from Arthur Cox Solicitors, acting on behalf of the State Claims Agency and the HSE, stating they would seek an injunction in the High Court on Tuesday to stop her hearing the inquest if she did not voluntarily stand aside and let another coroner hear the inquest.
The letter expressed concern that she might be biased.
Dr Flanagan said since she had been directed by the Attorney General to hold another inquest, she would not accede to the demand. In each case she heard all the evidence and directed the jury in accordance with the evidence. That would continue.
Tony O'Connor, counsel for the HSE, said his client would co- operate fully with the new inquest. This inquest was of tremendous public interest and he had been instructed to bring to the attention of the coroner the fact that there could be a reasonable apprehension that she had prejudged the outcome of the new inquest, based on the fact that she had directed the jury at the last inquest to return a particular verdict, but, as he put it, a different verdict was returned against her "strong wishes".
He requested her to ask the deputy coroner or another coroner to hear the new inquest.
Ken Connolly, barrister for the Sheridan family, told the court that Brian and Rosemary Sheridan had lost their daughter in extremely difficult circumstances and for the HSE to threaten a High Court injunction on the eve of a final inquest into her death was inconceivable to them.
He was asking Minister for Health Mary Harney and Minister for Finance Brian Cowen or whoever was responsible for the State Claims Agency to carry out a full and immediate investigation into the handling of this matter by the HSE. "Their grief could hardly be compounded further but it seems the HSE has managed to do that," he said.
The Sheridan family, he added, had no difficulty with Dr Flanagan hearing the inquest again and would like it to take place soon. Dr Flanagan said she would reserve her judgment on the submissions until June 8th.