Latest news with #misdiagnosis
Irish Times
8 hours ago
- Health
- Irish Times
Hospital apologises after misdiagnosis of seven-year-old's appendicitis
A hospital has apologised to a girl whose appendicitis was misdiagnosed at its emergency department in July, 2022, before her appendix later ruptured. A letter of apology from University Hospital Galway (UHG) was read in the High Court as Ariana Mocanu settled a legal action against the Health Service Executive (HSE) for €64,000. Jeremy Maher SC, instructed by PBN Litigation for Ariana, told the court the girl – who was seven years old at the time – had been incorrectly diagnosed with a urinary tract infection and discharged after midnight with antibiotics. Nine hours later, counsel said, she was brought back to the hospital but her acute appendicitis had progressed to a perforated appendix and peritonitis. She required urgent surgery. READ MORE Counsel said the girl's father had, on a number of occasions, raised the possibility of appendicitis with the hospital's treating medic but was told it was a urinary tract infection. Mr Justice Paul Coffey was told that liability and causation in the case are contested. In a letter, UHG said Ariana had been assessed by an emergency medicine doctor who formed the opinion, based on her presenting complaints, that the diagnosis was more likely to be a urinary tract infection than appendicitis. 'On this occasion, the diagnosis turned out to be incorrect. The hospital apologises for this initial misdiagnosis,' the letter from hospital manager Chris Kane said. It added: 'We regret what Ariana and her family went through and we wish Ariana and her family the very best.' Mr Maher told the court that experts on their side would say there was never a case where she should have been sent home. He said the HSE contended surgery would not have been possible at the hospital before morning in any event, which counsel said he found to be bizarre. Ariana had to have open surgery the next day and counsel said she had shown incredible courage. Ariana, from Gorey, Co Wexford, sued the HSE through her father. Outside court, the girl's parents, Diana and Petru Mocanu, through solicitor Piarais Neary, said they had brought the case for Ariana and to highlight to other parents the risk of appendicitis and to know the signs and when to seek urgent medical treatment. They said they welcomed the apology after three years. The young girl was brought to UHG on July 23rd, 2022 complaining of acute central abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. In the proceedings, it was claimed there was afailure to take any reasonable care for the safety of the girl and an alleged failure to exercise an appropriate level of skill, competence and diligence in or about the diagnosis, assessment, management and treatment of the child when she presented at the hospital. It was claimed she had been discharged with an incorrect diagnosis whereas she should have been admitted. All of the claims were denied. Approving the settlement, Mr Justice Coffey said he was satisfied it was fair and reasonable.
BreakingNews.ie
13 hours ago
- Health
- BreakingNews.ie
Galway hospital apologises for misdiagnosis of girl's appendicitis as she settles for €64,000
A hospital has apologised to a young girl whose appendicitis was allegedly misdiagnosed and her appendix later ruptured. A letter of apology from University Hospital Galway was read in the High Court as Ariana Mocanu settled a legal action against the HSE for €64,000. Advertisement Her counsel, Jeremy Maher SC, instructed by PBN Litigation, told the court that the girl, who was 7 years old at the time, had at the hospital been incorrectly diagnosed with a urinary tract infection and discharged home after midnight with antibiotics. Nine hours later, Mr Maher said she was brought back to the hospital, but her acute appendicitis had progressed to a perforated appendix and peritonitis, and she required urgent surgery. Mr Maher said the girl's father had on several occasions raised the possibility of appendicitis with the hospital treating medic, but was told it was a urinary tract infection. Mr Justice Paul Coffey was told that liability and causation remained at issue in the case. Advertisement In the letter which was read to the court, University Hospital Galway said Ariana had been assessed by an emergency medicine doctor who formed the opinion based on her presenting complaints that the diagnosis was more likely to be a urinary tract infection rather than appendicitis. 'On this occasion, the diagnosis turned out to be incorrect. The hospital apologises for this initial misdiagnosis,' the letter from the hospital manager, Chris Kane, said. It added: 'We regret what Ariana and her family went through and we wish Ariana and her family the very best.' Mr Maher told the court experts on their side would say there was never a case where she should have been sent home. Advertisement He said the HSE contended surgery would not have been possible before morning at the hospital in any event, which Counsel said he found to be bizarre. Ariana had to have open surgery the next day and counsel said she had shown incredible courage. Outside court, the girl's parents, Diana and Petru Mocanu through solicitor Piarais Neary, said they had brought the case for Ariana and to highlight to other parents the risk of appendicitis and to know the signs and when to seek urgent medical treatment. They said they welcomed the apology after three years. Advertisement Ariana Mocanu, of Gorey, Co Wexford, had through her father, Petru Mocanu, sued the HSE. The little girl had been brought to University Hospital Galway accident and emergency department on July 23rd, 2022, complaining of acute central abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. In the proceedings, it was claimed there was a failure to take any or any reasonable care for the safety of the little girl and a failure to exercise an appropriate level of care, skill, competence and diligence in or about the diagnosis, assessment, management and treatment of the child when she presented at the hospital emergency department on July 23rd, 2022. The little girl, it was contended, had been subjected to a substandard level of care when she presented at the hospital A&E, and there had been a wrong diagnosis of urinary tract infection. The little girl, it was claimed, had been discharged with a wrong diagnosis and instead she should have been admitted to the hospital. All of the claims were denied. Approving the settlement, Mr Justice Paul Coffey said he was satisfied it was fair and reasonable.
The Sun
11-06-2025
- Health
- The Sun
Woman, 31, adds name to euthanasia list after ‘grim' cancer diagnosis – then she receives ‘haunting' realisation
A WOMAN who was told she had advanced-stage breast cancer and only months to live received shocking news just days later. Gabriella Patey, 31, received the "grim diagnosis" that had also claimed her mum's life, and began telling family and friends, as well as making end-of-life preparations. 2 2 Living in Canada, Gabriella put a claim through her bank for critical illness insurance and put her name on the list for medically assisted dying. She told Global News: "I just came to terms with it. This is what it was, just absolutely devastating." But just says later, her family doctor called with some unbelievable news. She recalled: "I got another call from my primary care physician stating, actually, there had been a critical patient error at the IWK (Health Centre). "And the file with the grim diagnosis did not even belong to me. "I didn't even really believe her. I mean why should I? They had made this mistake once, how could they make it again?" Gabriella first discovered a lump on her breast in October 2023, not long after her mum had died of the disease. Over the course of a year, she had multiple ultrasounds at the Breast Health Clinic at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In May 17, following a biopsy, Gabriella received the "great news" there were no traces of breast cancer. But two and a half weeks later, her family doctor called to say there must have been mistake as she did actually have cancer. I planned my suicide after my GP misdiagnosed me - turns out I wasn't depressed The news came just five days after she'd finished successful treatment for thyroid cancer. Two days later, however, her family doctor confirmed it was actually an error - she didn't have cancer. Gabriella's doctor went to the IWK to check her lab report. She said: "A director in the pathology department spoke to my primary care physician verbally admitted that it was a critical patient error." While Gabriella has received an apology from IWK, she's been left doubting Nova Scotia's health-care system and is pursuing legal action. She said she and her family have been left haunted by what's happened. 'It's absolutely devastating to get a diagnosis like that. I had to look my husband in the face and tell him,' she said. '(We have) all these plans for our future and (I had to) say, 'I may not be here to live out those plans with you.' I mean we're crying ourselves to sleep every night.' In a statement to Global News, a spokesperson from IWK Health said "concerns of this nature are taken seriously." Spokesperson Andrea Slaney wrote: "Due to patient privacy, IWK Health is unable to comment on specific cases. "However, concerns of this nature are taken seriously and a formal investigation process is followed with engagement from IWK's Quality, Patient Safety and Patient Experience team."
CTV News
09-06-2025
- Health
- CTV News
‘Absolutely unimaginable': N.S woman says she was falsely diagnosed with cancer
Gabriella Patey says she and her family are traumatized after she was falsely diagnosed with cancer by a Halifax hospital. The 31-year-old claims it all started on May 17, when she says she had just finished celebrating after her doctor informed her that results from the IWK, a women's health centre, showed a tumour in her breast was 'completely benign.' 'We celebrated as my mother had just died of the same cancer a year-and-a-half prior. So, it was a huge relief,' says Patey. But the celebration was short-lived, as Patey says she received a shocking call from her doctor less than a month later. 'I get a call from my primary care physician that the IWK had made a mistake, and I actually did have metastatic carcinoma, which is a very grim diagnosis,' says Patey. Just as quickly as she got that call, Patey says she went into 'survival mode' and began making calls of her own. 'I told my friends, my family, my work,' says Patey. 'I put claims in through my bank so my bills would be taken care of. And I got my primary physician that put my name on the list for medically assisted dying. 'My number one priority was to make sure my husband was taken care of. And making sure he didn't have to watch me suffer, like I had to watch my mother suffer,' she says. But things took a turn when Patey says she received another phone call from her doctor last Friday. She says her doctor informed her there had been a mix up at the IWK and that she did not have cancer. Patey says she received a second opinion on Monday, with her doctor confirming she was indeed cancer free. 'This morning, I received a phone call from my primary care physician, the director of pathology at the IWK did a full investigation. She actually went and looked through all the slides and all the reporting herself and determined that my file had been mixed up with someone else's. So now my thought is (that) there's this poor woman that's walking around that was given hope that she didn't have breast cancer. And she does. And she has one of the most aggressive breast cancer out there,' says Patey. Andrea Slaney, a spokesperson for the IWK, told CTV News Atlantic in an email Monday that, 'due to patient privacy, IWK Health is unable to comment on specific cases. However, concerns of this nature are taken seriously and a formal investigation process is followed with engagement from IWK's Quality, Patient Safety and Patient Experience team.' Patey says she does not know what to believe and her faith in the province's health-care system is lost. 'We haven't been able to sleep. We've been crying ourselves to sleep every night. And now I have to go to my work, my family, and say, 'Actually, I don't have this terminal diagnosis.'' And the shame that I feel for having to do that, even though it's not my fault,' says Patey. 'Our health-care system is broken. We know that it's been broken for some time, but it seems like if something like this can happen, are we broken beyond repair?' Patey says throughout this process, she was never once contacted by the IWK directly. She says she intends on taking legal action. 'I'm a person, I'm a human being. I'm not a number in a computer system and to not even call and say, 'We are so sorry for what has happened here.' It's just absolutely unimaginable to me,' says Patey. Gabriella Patey Gabriella Patey says she was falsely diagnosed with cancer. (Source: Vanessa Wright/CTV News Atlantic) For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
Irish Times
05-06-2025
- General
- Irish Times
‘Why are there all these mistakes?' Woman laments loss of daughter and unborn grandson as hospital apologises
Tipperary University Hospital has apologised to the family of a woman for shortcomings in care which led to her death and that of her unborn baby. Caroline Kavanagh was 22 weeks pregnant with her second child when she first presented at the Clonmel hospital's emergency department with chest pain. Dr John O'Mahony SC, for Ms Kavanagh's family, told the High Court the 37-year-old was misdiagnosed and her heart attack symptoms were not identified or addressed before she was discharged home. In what counsel described as a 'heartbreaking and extremely sad case', Ms Kavanagh was found unresponsive five days later in bed at her home in Kilmallock, Co Limerick and was later pronounced dead. READ MORE 'Her mother came to her home and found her daughter motionless in bed. Caroline had died and the baby she was carrying died with his mother,' counsel said. Dr O'Mahony, instructed by Ciaran O'Keeffe solicitor, said there was unfortunately a misdiagnosis at the hospital. He said there was a mistaken belief that an elevated level of the protein Troponin in the blood was due to pregnancy when it can also point to cardiovascular issues. Margaret Kavanagh holds a Mass card for her daughter Caroline and unborn grandson TJ outside the High Court in Dublin. Photograph: Collins Courts The letter of apology was read in court as Ms Kavnagh's mother Margaret Kavanagh, of Cashel, Co Tipperary, settled a High Court action against the HSE over her daughter's death on February 11th, 2015. In the letter, interim hospital manager Ailish Delaney expressed 'our profound sympathy and condolences to you on the loss of your daughter Caroline and her unborn child'. It added: 'The management and staff of the hospital apologise sincerely for the shortcomings in the care which was provided to Caroline and which led to her tragic death. The hospital wishes to acknowledge the heartache and distress suffered by her family because of her premature passing and to express our sincere sympathy and regret.' A breach of duty was admitted by the HSE in the case. Noting the settlement, and the division of the statutory €35,000 mental distress payment, Mr Justice Paul Coffey extended his deepest sympathy to the family. At the time of her death, Ms Kavanagh's daughter Megan was just nine-months-old. Speaking outside the court, Margaret Kavanagh said it had taken the family 10 years to get justice for Caroline, but the apology would not bring back her daughter or her unborn baby. 'While we acknowledge the apology from the HSE, as a family we believe that if the past mistakes that were made had had been corrected we would not be here today,' she said. She said Caroline was very much looking forward to the birth of her second child, to be named Thomas James (TJ) and was 'a great mother, daughter, sister and just a great person'. 'Why are there all these mistakes? We are in the 21st century and we seem to be going backwards,' Mrs Kavanagh added, clutching a picture of her daughter worn in a pendant around her neck. She said she dhe hoped no family would in future have to go through 'the pain and loss we have experienced in the last 10 years'. In the proceedings it was claimed a correct diagnosis of acute heart attack was not made and Caroline Kavanagh was not offered appropriate cardiac care to significantly improve her chances of survival when she attended the hospital on February 6th, 2015. She died of complications of heart attack on February 11th, 2015. It was claimed substandard care was provided and she did not have an echocardiogram. She was started on cardioprotective medication on admission to hospital but these were stopped on discharge.
