Courts

Boy left with battery in throat for nine days receives apologies from HSE and doctor

Aaron Sikorski, aged one at the time, not sent for X-ray despite mother’s concerns and visits to GP and hospital ED

Aaron Sikorski (6) from Tuam, Co Galway swallowed a button battery when he was 13 months old.

Wed Jan 17 2024 - 13:14

The HSE and a general practitioner have apologised to a woman for the treatment her son received after he swallowed a battery.

Aaron Sikorski was 13-months-old when he swallowed the button-type battery while playing at home. The High Court heard it was 9½ days before a chest X-ray was carried out despite visits to his GP and the emergency department at Galway University Hospital.

Aaron’s senior counsel, Damien Higgins, told the court the battery was a common circular battery used in watches and can react with saliva to burn through the oesophagus. Medical help should be sought within 48 hours in such cases.

Counsel said the boy ended up having to have an emergency operation to extract the battery and also further reconstructive surgery on his oesophagus. He remained in hospital for three weeks having spent time in intensive care.

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Marlena Sikorski with her son, Aaron Sikorski, from Tuam, Co Galway. Photograph: Collins Courts

Mr Higgins said it was their case that the GP should have suspected the boy swallowed a battery and the hospital should have carried out a chest X-ray earlier.

Aaron, of Galway Road, Tuam, Co Galway, on Wednesday settled a High Court action over the care he received from a GP and at the hospital emergency department for €220,000.

Outside court, his solicitor, Johan Verbruggen, made a statement on behalf of the family saying it was every parent’s worst nightmare. The boy’s mother told multiple doctors over three days that she feared the infant had swallowed a battery.

“A simple x-ray would have confirmed that but the opportunities to arrange one were missed. All the while, the battery was leaking and corroding Aaron’s throat. Simply put, had Marlena been listened to, Aaron would not have suffered these horrific injuries,” he said.

Aaron had through his mother, Marlena Sikorski, sued the HSE over the care received in 2018 at Galway University Hospital and from his GP, Maire McGarry, of Tuam Family Practice on Seán Purcell Road.

Mr Justice Paul Coffey was told the HSE admitted a breach of duty in the case but causation was still at issue. Dr McGarry denied all the claims.

As part of the settlement, an apology was read to the court on behalf of both defendants.

It said: “We would like to offer you our sincere apologies for the treatment that Aaron received from us in 2018. We regret the distress and anxiety which you and your family have experienced.”

In the proceedings, it was claimed Aaron became unwell at home on July 25th, 2018. He had been playing near a drawer where batteries were kept. He started coughing and became quite distressed and also vomited. His mother thought he may have swallowed something.

She took him to the GP but it was claimed that the possibility of an ingested or inhaled foreign body was dismissed and there was no referral to hospital. The next day the child was reviewed by the GP and his mother mentioned her fear he had swallowed a battery, it was claimed. The child also had a high temperature and had vomited again.

On July 27th, Aaron was brought to the emergency department of Galway University Hospital. It was noted that he had difficulty breathing and that he was not eating. It was claimed there was a failure to take a proper history and a failure to arrange a chest X-ray.

It was claimed that no chest X-ray was performed and the possibility of a swallowed foreign body was overlooked.

On August 3rd, Aaron was referred to the hospital by his GP. Following a review, he was found to have a wheeze and a chest X-ray showed a foreign body.

The HSE admitted a breach of duty but causation remained at issue.

Against the GP, it was claimed there was a failure to refer the child immediately and urgently. Dr McGarry denied all the claims and claimed her management of the patient was perfectly reasonable and in line with what most competent GPs would have done in similar circumstances.

Approving the settlement, Mr Justice Coffey said the offer was fair and reasonable.

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