Woman claims back surgery ‘undone’ by fall in hospital bathroom

A woman’s back surgery was undone when she slipped on the wet floor of a hospital bathroom the day after she underwent the procedure, the High Court has heard. Edel Byrne (29), a nurse from Cedar Park, Ridgewood, Swords, is suing the Mater Private Hospital in Dublin and cleaning contractors Noonan Topco Ltd, Ardee Road, Rathmines, Dublin.

She claims negligence over the condition of the floor in the en suite bathroom which she was using the day after her surgery on February 21st, 2012. Both defendants deny liability. It is alleged Ms Byrne slipped and hit her head against a washbasin and her back against the toilet bowl.

Her counsel said the fall effectively undid the surgery she had undergone. Her lawyers applied to the court for an order requiring Noonan Topco to provide further and better particulars of its defence to the claim. They said the replies given so far were far too general and they were “left guessing” about what the defence was.

Mr Justice Séamus Noonan rejected the application, saying the replies given by Noonan Topco were effectively the “bog standard” type in slip-and-fall cases. Ms Byrne’s side was seeking for the defendant to say how the accident happened and that could not be done unless it had someone in the bathroom who had witnessed her fall, he said. He was perfectly satisfied Noonan Topco had supplied sufficient particulars.