Brain-damaged girl awarded €3.1m interim payment

A brain damaged girl has secured a €3.1m interim payment and an apology under a settlement of her case over her care at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda.

In her action, it was claimed Jasveen Gill was misdiagnosed with croup cough when, aged almost two, she was brought to the hospital choking on a popcorn kernel.

The kernel was not removed for three days and she later sustained brain damage.

At the High Court on Wednesday, the HSE and Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital apologised to the girl, now aged 11, for "the shortcomings in her care".

Dr John O’Mahoney SC, for Ms Gill, said it was a “profoundly sad” case and a nightmare for Jasveen and her family.

Jasveen was a perfectly happy child for one year and 10 months but is now brain-damaged, has difficulties with balance and has poor speech, he said.

On the third day after her admission to the hospital in May 2008, the child had a choking and gasping fit and emergency resuscitation was commenced, he said.

She was transferred to the Children's Hospital, Crumlin where a bronchoscopy examination of the lungs was carried out and a popcorn kernel was found lodged in her right lung.

Unfortunately, that was too late for Jasveen who was in a very serious condition, remained unconscious for 30 days and suffered significant brain damage, counsel said.

‘Distress and suffering’

The HSE and hospital apologised unreservedly to Jasveen and her family “for the shortcomings in care” at the time of her admission in May 2008 and the “distress and suffering” caused to the girl and her extended family.

“As a result of the Critical Incident Review completed in 2008 in relation to Jasveen’s management, valuable lessons were learned and recommendations were implemented in the hospital in order to prevent a reoccurrence,” it said.

Mr Justice Kevin Cross was told liability was conceded and a €3.1m payment was to cover care for the next seven years after which future care needs will be assessed.

An action for nervous shock by the child's parents, Amandeep Kaur and Tajinder Gill, was also settled, the court heard.

Through her father Tajinder Gill, Jasveen, of Seafield Court, Rush, Co Dublin, sued the HSE over the care provided to Jasveen at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital after she was brought there on May 10th 2008.

On that day, Jasveen was at home when she swallowed some popcorn, it went into her airway, she began coughing and was very quickly in a crisis situation, counsel said.

Her grandmother and a neighbour tried to resuscitate her and she was was taken to the Drogheda hospital.

She was kept in for observation, had a further episode of choking and ended up in the intensive care unit where she was re-examined.

On May 13th, she had a very severe bout of coughing, went into cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated, counsel said.

In an ambulance en route to the Childrens’ Hospital, Crumlin, she had two further severe seizures, counsel said. It was claimed, while at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Jasveen was incorrectly diagnosed with croup cough and started on medication. It was alleged no further investigative steps were taken in relation to the ingested popcorn.

The next day, it was claimed the child sufferd another choking incident, went bluish around the lips and was transferred to the hospital intensive care.

On May 12th, 2008, it was claimed she suffered further episodes of choking and on May 13th, had another seizure and was transferred by ambulance to Dublin.

It was claimed there was failure to carry out appropriate investigations at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, to diagnose the existence of a foreign body in the respiratory tract or lung and that the child’s condition had been misdiagnosed.

Approving the settlement, Mr Justice Kevin Cross said it will help get Jasveen professional help and he congratulated her parents on their care for her.