Courts

Family of Eve Cleary (21) settles High Court action over death of Limerick woman shortly after hospital discharge

Ms Cleary, from Corbally, died at home shortly after her discharge from University Hospital Limerick, where she had attended after hurting her leg

Barry Cleary and his wife Melanie Sheehan Cleary of Corbally, Co Limerick, outside the Four Courts where they had brought an action against the HSE over the death of their daughter Eve Cleary in 2019. Photograph: Collins Courts

Tue Jan 30 2024 - 14:38

The family of a 21-year-old woman who died hours after she was discharged from University Hospital Limerick (UHL) and told to go home and rest has settled a High Court action over her death.

As part of the settlement, the Health Service Executive (HSE) and the hospital in a statement to the High Court expressed “sincere condolences and deep regret” on Eve Cleary’s “untimely death”.

The High Court heard the settlement was without an admission of liability.

Ms Cleary (21), from Corbally, Limerick, died in the early hours of July 21st, 2019, just over three hours after her discharge from UHL and two days after she fell and hurt her leg. She went to the hospital’s emergency department after the fall and spent 17 hours on a trolley in a corridor before getting a bed.

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During the High Court case, a medical expert on the Cleary side said if Ms Cleary had been given an anticoagulant it would have prevented her from developing the blood clot in her lung which led to her cardiac arrest and death. The HSE denied all the claims.

The family’s counsel Dr John O’Mahony SC, instructed by Doireann O’Mahony BL, on Tuesday told the High Court it was their case if Ms Cleary had a blood clot venous thromboembolism (VTE) risk assessment, she would have been given the anticoagulant heparin and it would have protected her “from the dreadful outcome”.

Counsel said it was a tragic case. The details of the settlement are confidential.

The late Eve Cleary of Corbally, Co Limerick

The HSE/UHL statement read to the court said: “On behalf of the hospital and staff and the HSE I wish to offer our sincere condolences and deep regret to Melanie, Barry, and Eve’s family on Eve’s untimely death.

“The hospital has taken on board the issues and concerns raised by the Cleary family and we wish to reassure them that UL Hospital Group strives at all times to optimise patient care.”

It added: ”In memory of the late Eve Cleary and in the spirit and name of her legacy, the management of the hospital will be introducing a rolling audit programme on recognising, reducing and managing VTE on a quarterly basis with its findings being shared with the governance group. This will inform our quality improvement programmes across the UL Hospitals group.”

Ms Cleary’s parents Barry Cleary and Melanie Sheehan Cleary and her sisters Kate, Elizabeth, Sarah, and Emma and her brother Sean, all of Corbally, Co Limerick, had sued the HSE over her death and also for mental distress.

It was claimed that Ms Cleary was allegedly allowed to develop a deep vein thrombosis (DVT), a blood clot in her vein, and that an opportunity had been allegedly missed at the hospital to put her on Heparin on admission.

The HSE accepted a formal risk assessment in relation to blood clots was not done but denied all other claims. The HSE, the court heard, did not accept the failure to carry out the risk assessment was a breach of duty. It said the treatment and management of Ms Cleary was reasonable and appropriate.

After six days at hearing before a High Court judge and mediation talks, the settlement of the case was announced in the High Court.

Dr O’Mahony SC said it was a horrifically tragic case for the Cleary family.

Ms Cleary’s mother told Mr Justice Paul Coffey on her seventh day in court that she, her husband and family were relieved the court battle was over.

She said that, to the family, sorry meant more than compensation.

Noting the settlement Mr Justice Coffey extended his deepest sympathy to the Cleary family.

Outside court afterwards Eve’s mother said this was the first time in four and a half years she felt peace. “We are very proud to see the protocol happen and that Eve’s name will live on in this legacy. We want to see lives saved and DVT blood clots caught early. We don’t want another family to go through what we have been through,” she said.

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