A MORTUARY porter at Tallaght Hospital who claimed he suffered shoulder injuries after lifting a corpse has settled his High Court action, without admission of liability from the defendant.
Austin Dowling (59), Knockmore Grove, Tallaght, Dublin, sued the Adelaide and Meath Hospital, Tallaght, for damages over injuries allegedly sustained when lifting the body of a dead man from a bed into a concealment trolley on January 18th, 2005. The defendant denied the claims.
After talks between the sides, Bruce Antoniotti SC, for Mr Dowling, yesterday told Ms Justice Mary Irvine the issues had been settled and the case could be struck out. No details of the settlement were revealed.
Mr Dowling had alleged negligence and breach of duty by the hospital in failing to provide him with a safe system of work, failing to provide proper machinery to lift the body, and failing to provide a roller board to slide the body on to the trolley. He claimed he was provided with an unsafe trolley and had not been trained on removal of a corpse from a bed to a particular concealment trolley.
Mr Dowling claimed he suffered loss of movement and pain in his right shoulder, requiring surgery.