A €4.65 million settlement - believed to be the second highest of its kind in the history of the State - has been approved by the High Court for a young boy who is totally blind and severely brain-damaged after undergoing a procedure at a Cork hospital.
The settlement was approved against the Southern Health Board (SHB) in favour of Darragh Crowley, now aged seven.
Approving the amount yesterday, Mr Justice Diarmuid O'Donovan said he was impressed by the boy's mother, Hannah Crowley, and her efforts on his behalf. Darragh was a lucky boy in the parents he had, the judge remarked.
Ms Crowley, a nurse, of Tullig, Millstreet, Co Cork, had told the judge in considerable detail of her efforts in the past five years to secure appropriate care for Darragh, involving trips to the UK and Hungary as well as treatment here, including daily physiotherapy administered by herself and her husband, Declan.
The court was told that the procedure which gave rise to the action took place in September 2000 when the boy was aged two and related to the revision of a shunt/tube inserted two years earlier to deal with a condition of his skull.
It was claimed Darragh sustained catastrophic personal injuries as a result of negligence and inadequate monitoring of him after the operation at Cork University Hospital, Wilton, Cork.
Through his mother, Darragh had sued the SHB and a number of other defendants. However, the case against the other defendants did not proceed after liability was admitted by the board.
Mr Justice O'Donovan said he had no hesitation in accepting the recommendations of Ms Crowley's counsel, Henry Hickey SC and John O'Mahony SC, and he approved the settlement.
The judge approved a payout of €300,000 and the remainder of the award will be paid into court.
There will be an application to the president of the High Court later to have Darragh made a ward of court.
Afterwards, Ms Crowley, who was accompanied by her husband, said Darragh was a bright, lively, playful little boy before the procedure at Cork University Hospital and had been left very compromised.
They believed the settlement would relieve the burden of care and ensure a quality of care for Darragh.
Such care should be given to children with special needs regardless of the reasons for their disability, she added. Darragh was at the centre of their home and while they would not get their old Darragh back, they now wanted to get on with coping.
She also thanked their legal team for their professionalism and sensitivity.