"What happened has been completely life-changing. We have been left completely devastated by the loss of our beautiful mum.”
Those were the words of a Cork family to a High Court judge on Tuesday as they settled an action over the death of their mother after she was admitted to hospital for a routine heart angiogram test.
Aileen Halligan (69), a mother of three from Cobh, died after going to the Mater Private Hospital in Cork for the procedure which examines the blood vessels.
Her daughter, Aoife Halligan Brown, and sons Shane and Niall Halligan, all from Cobh, Co Cork, had sued Abid Hussaini, consultant interventional cardiologist of the Mater Private Hospital, Mahon, Cork over the death of Mrs Halligan on May 31st, 2017.
Mrs Halligan’s husband, James, was originally a plaintiff in the case but he died in May 2021.
The family’s counsel, Dr John O’Mahony SC, with Cian O’Mahony BL told the court the case, which settled for €420,000, was without an admission of liability.
Dr O’Mahony said Mrs Halligan attended hospital for an angiogram, but she then also had an angioplasty, which is an unblocking procedure and involves a stent insertion.
He said it was their case that the stenting procedure was allegedly mishandled and the stent allegedly became displaced and steps were taken to correct it, but Mrs Halligan developed thrombosis and heart failure and died.
In the proceedings, it was claimed there was a failure to warn Mrs Halligan of the risk of perforation involved in stenting and a failure to exercise the care, diligence, judgment and skill to be expected.
All of the claims were denied.
Dr O’Mahony said the Halligan family were “disturbed by what happened on that day.”
He said Mrs Halligan had been brought in for one procedure an angiogram that would be relatively straightforward and then angioplasty surgery took place which he said had more risk and complications attached.
Aoife Halligan Brown told the court the family had waited over seven years for their day in court.
Her mother, a retired nurse, she said, was a beautiful lady and she understood the angiogram process and was adamant she would be able to mind her grandson the next day.
“We did not get to say goodbye. If we knew about the risks and complications we would have not said that morning, 'See you later'. We would have dealt with things differently,” she said.
Ms Halligan Brown told the judge when doctors came in to discuss the situation as the Halligans waited in a family room of the hospital, they had blood on their shoes and scrubs.
“The first doctor had blood on his shoes and then a team of doctors came in and they had blood on their scrubs and shoes. The whole scene was chaotic,” she told the judge.
She added: "What happened has been completely life-changing. We have been left completely devastated by the loss of our beautiful mum."
Approving the settlement and the division of the statutory mental distress payment of €35,000, Mr Justice Paul Coffey said it was a sad and tragic case and he expressed his deepest sympathy to the family.
Outside court, Aoife, on behalf of the Halligan family, said: “Monetary compensation is in fact little or no compensation for the dreadful loss we have suffered. Our mum should be with us today.”
