High Court: Man whose wife committed suicide the day after she was discharged from hospital awarded €263k

About this case:

• Court:
  High Court
• Judge:
  Mr Justice Michael Hanna

Finding that the woman had not been afforded an appropriate standard of medical care at University College Hospital Galway, Mr Justice Michael Hanna said that if the proper course of action had been adopted and she had been persuaded to be treated as an in-patient, it was probable that she would not have taken her own life on 19 April 2011.

Background

Angelo Cloonan brought the proceedings for himself and on behalf of his three children, as dependents of his late wife, Josephine Cloonan. Angelo and Josephine had been married for 25 years when Josephine ended her life by hanging herself at the family home on 19 April 2011.

Two days before her death, on 17 April 2011, Josephine had been admitted to the Emergency Department at University College Hospital, Galway (UCHG) “following a significant episode of self-harm by overdose of prescribed and other medication”.

Josephine was discharged from UCHG on 18 April, and her body was discovered by her daughters in the early hours of 19 April.

High Court

Mr Cloonan alleged that the defendants (named as the Health Service Executive and Dr Kishan Browne) failed properly to assess, diagnose and treat the deceased.

Mr Cloonan complained that Josephine was sent home without proper regard to her mental state of well-being and should have been detained in the hospital; and that the defendants were guilty of negligence and breach of duty (including statutory duty) in their failure, inter alia, properly to assess and diagnose the imminent risk of Josephine committing suicide which resulted from her being discharged home when such ought not to have occurred.

Sitting in the High Court, Mr Justice Michael Hanna said that Josephine Cloonan was not afforded an appropriate standard of medical care at UCHG. Mr Justice Hanna said that Dr Browne, in capacity as the senior house officer in psychiatry at UCHG, had placed “unwarranted reliance” on an interview that he had with Josephine, and an “an over-optimistic view of the risk of her further self-harming resulting from the inadequacy, indeed near absence, of collateral enquiries conducted by him”.

Mr Justice Hanna said that this was a consequence, substantially, of his erroneous views on the limits of doctor/patient confidentiality which were contrary to generally accepted practice.

Finding that no medical practitioner of like specialisation and skill would have adopted a similar view, Mr Justice Hanna said that “a medical practitioner, appropriately informed, as a matter of probability, would have persuaded Mrs. Cloonan to remain as an in-patient in the hospital”. Mr Justice Hanna said that Dr Browne would have had the “potent support” of Josephine’s family and her GP if he had done this.

Mr Justice Hanna said that if this course had been adopted, it is probable that Josephine would not have taken her own life on 19 April 2011. As such, Mr Justice Hanna was satisfied that the case in negligence against the defendants had been made out.

Damages

Mr Justice Hanna awarded €25,394.76 damages for mental distress under the provisions of the Civil Liability Act 1961 (as amended), to be disbursed as to 50 per cent to the plaintiff and the balance to be distributed in equal shares between the three children. For loss of consortium, Mr Justice Hanna awarded €25,000 in damages

For financial loss, Mr Justice Hanna considered the :unpredictability of suicide and the fact that, even on the basis that she would have “weathered the storm” had she been admitted to hospital and treated and observed appropriately, the future outlook could not have been regarded as certain”.  In all the circumstances, Mr Justice Hanna measured the net loss to Mr Cloonan in the sum of €200,000.

Adding special damages agreed between the parties as €12,826.05, Mr Justice Hanna awarded damages totalling €263,220.81.

• by Seosamh Gráinséir for Irish Legal News