Woman who became paraplegic after contracting MRSA gets almost €70,000 in damages

A woman whose life was irreversibly ruined after contracting the MRSA infection when admitted to St Luke’s hospital for treatment has been awarded €70,000 in an action for damages over the case which dated back 12 years. It was around February 2007 when the 48-year-old housewife had been admitted to the former state hospital suffering from vertigo, nausea and stomach pains. Her medical file showed that she had been admitted on previous occasions for a number of health problems. On that occasion, fearing possible dehydration, the patient was referred to the emergency department by her doctor where, upon admission, she was placed on a drip and entrusted to the care of a surgeon for the following fortnight. A dark bruise developed on her right forearm at the point where the needle punctured her skin, with a yellowish fluid accumulating at the spot. Upon trying to get out of bed some two weeks later, the patient suddenly collapsed. Her legs simply gave way. Following that episode, the woman spent four weeks in bed, unable to move and placed on antibiotics, after it was established that she had contracted the MRSA infection which had attacked her spine and had even affected her...