A woman who effectively lost her childhood and endured "appalling pain and suffering" following the misdiagnosis of a growth condition in her leg has been awarded damages of almost £600,000 by the High Court. Mr Justice McCracken said Ms Eilis Cody (18) had missed out on a normal childhood because of the misdiagnosis. While it was probable she would be able to lead an independent, though limited, life in the future, she would always have a limp and be restricted in her activities, he said.
Ms Cody's disabilities, some 20 admissions to hospitals and lengthy periods in casts, have had a devastating effect on her, the judge added. Her schooling was seriously disrupted and she was understandably self-conscious about her limp and scars.
He awarded Ms Cody, of Noremount, Kilkenny, £580,975 damages against a general surgeon, Mr Michael J Hurley, who practises at St Luke's Hospital, Kilkenny, and an orthopaedic surgeon, Mr Michael O'Riordan, who practises at Kilcreen Orthopaedic Hospital, Co Kilkenny.
Both doctors had admitted liability and the judge was asked only to assess damages. The award includes £390,975 in special damages and £190,000 for pain and suffering to date and into the future.
The defence asked for a stay on the amount of the award. Mr Padraig McCartan SC, for Ms Cody, asked for an immediate payout of £450,000. Later, the judge was told the parties had agreed that amount could be paid out. A stay was put on the remainder in the event of an appeal.
Two months after complaining of pains in her left knee, Ms Cody was eventually correctly diagnosed in February 1992 as having a slipped left upper femoral epiphysis - a growth-related condition in young boys and girls aged 10 to 15. There are two classical symptoms: referred pain from the hip to the knee and the leg presenting in external rotation.
The judge was satisfied that if Ms Cody's condition had been properly diagnosed originally, the probability was that she would have had a normal childhood.
He said that, in 1991, when she was 11 years old, Ms Cody complained of pains in her left knee joint and began to walk with a limp. She was taken to Kilcreen Orthopaedic Hospital in Co Kilkenny on December 17th, 1991 by her mother, a nurse, where a tentative diagnosis was made that she was suffering from Osgood Schlatter disease and a below-knee cast was applied.
On December 23rd, the pain became severe and her mother took her to the accident and emergency department of St Luke's Hospital, Kilkenny, where she had an X-ray. No bone abnormality was found but an appointment was made for her to have a bone scan at St Anne's Hospital, Dublin, in January 1992.
At that hospital, the cast was removed and she was given crutches. At that stage, Dr Hurley, who had been treating the child in St Luke's, referred her back to Kilcreen Orthopaedic Hospital where she was seen by Dr Riordan on January 24th, 1992. He found nothing wrong.
Her condition did not improve and on February 11th, 1992, she was taken back to the accident and emergency department of St Luke's where, at her mother's insistence, an X-ray was taken of her left hip. This showed a slipped left upper femoral epiphysis and she was immediately admitted to hospital. Since then she had had several major operations.
She now had a metal plate in her hip, some restriction in her ankle movements, scars on her hip, knee and ankle and her left knee was noticeably higher than her right. She suffers more or less continuous pain in her back and walks with a limp.
Mr Justice McCracken said it was conceded by the two doctors that, although the initial complaints related to her knee, Ms Cody's symptoms should have immediately alerted them to the possibility of a slipped epiphysis and that the treatment given to her was inappropriate. He said there were three possible further surgical interventions. One had a 50 per cent chance of success and could be repeated if it were not. If successful, general mobility would improve but the chronic back pain would persist. Another operation had an 80 per cent chance of success but was more severe and involved greater risk of infection and nerve damage. She could also have a hip replacement but general medical opinion held this should not be considered until she was in her late 30s.
On the evidence he had heard, it was probable a further operation would be successful to some degree, the judge said. But nothing would restore Ms Cody to normality.
