Courts

Family of woman (44) who died after brain injury settles action for €1.2m

Amanda Davey Murphy died in May 2022 after spending two years on a ventilator, following a fall at home in 2016

Fergal Murphy (right) listens as his solicitor David O'Malley speaks to the media outside the High court, following the settling of his action over his wife Amanda Davey Murphy's death in 2022. Photograph: Collins Courts

Thu Jul 20 2023 - 17:03

The family of a 44-year-old woman who died after suffering a brain injury after a fall at home have settled a High Court action for €1.2 million against the Health Service Executive (HSE) over her hospital care.

The HSE previously admitted liability in the case of Amanda Davey Murphy, who died in May of last year.

On Thursday, the High Court approved the €1.2 million settlement of a separate action that her husband Fergal Murphy brought after her death on behalf of his family, including their children Arianna (11) and Cormac (10).

Ms Davey Murphy, a school principal from Ballina, Co Mayo, died six months after Mr Murphy pleaded with the State in court to allow her action for damages over her hospital care and another case to decide the future care needs of her children to run in parallel.

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It was alleged that an anomaly in the law prevented the two strands from running together unless the State parties consented to such a move.

The point of law relates to a section of the Civil Liability Act 1961, which stipulates that only one action can be heard arising from an alleged wrongful act and the children and dependants can only bring their action after the person’s death.

She settled her own action, while her family had to wait until she died to bring their separate case related to her loss.

The court heard Ms Davey Murphy suffered a significant brain injury and was on a ventilator and at times in a coma since 2020. She died on May 21st, 2022.

She sued the HSE in relation to her 2016 care at Mayo University Hospital and Sligo University Hospital. She claimed there was a failure to identify over a protracted period that she had sustained damage to her brain.

She went to the Mayo hospital on January 9th, 2016, after having a fall at home. A wound on her scalp was stapled, and she was advised the fall was due to low blood pressure. She was sent home. It was claimed that no CT scan or other investigation took place.

Two days later, she was admitted to the Sligo hospital after being sent there by her GP. She had a CT scan and other investigations, but no cause was found. Medication was prescribed to keep her blood pressure elevated.

On January 16th, Ms Davey Murphy had a second fall that appeared to be due to a seizure, and she was brought by ambulance to Sligo General Hospital.

She was kept for observation overnight and the fall was again attributed to low blood pressure. On January 19th, she was found unresponsive with symptoms of a prolonged seizure. On examination, she had slurred speech and left-sided weakness.

It was submitted by the Murphy side that had the injury been identified and repaired at the time of the admissions to the hospitals, she may on the balance of probabilities have made an uncomplicated recovery.

Outside of court, after settling the action, Mr Murphy said: “It beggars belief that we were dragged through such a lengthy legal battle.”

He said the HSE admitted liability early in the case of his wife, but she died not knowing if her children’s futures were secured in their legal action due to what his side described as a legal anomaly.

“It is a great source of relief to come to the end of the process and Amanda can now be at peace knowing her children’s future has been secured. It’s now a day for us to hopefully draw a line in the sand and get on with our lives,” he added.

His solicitor, David O’Malley, in a statement on his behalf, called on the Government to “do the right thing” and introduce a bill that would rectify the legal situation.

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