The family of a man who was referred to hospital with shortness of breath and chest tightness but was later discharged before dying two weeks later has settled a High Court action for €125,000.
Brendan Holden, a father-of-three from Mullinavat, Co Kilkenny, died from severe underlying ischemic heart disease, a postmortem found, with an enlarged heart noted as a contributing factor.
Aidan Doyle, counsel for Holden’s family, told the High Court it was their case that the 64-year-old should not have been discharged from University Hospital Waterford after he was referred there by his GP in May 2021.
The case settled for €125,000 and was before the court for the division of the €35,000 mental distress payment only.
Josephine Holden, of Mullinavat, Co Kilkenny, had sued the HSE over the death of her husband.
The settlement against the HSE, which was reached after mediation, is without an admission of liability.
Counsel said Holden, a retired mechanic, went to his GP on May 19th, 2021, complaining of tightness in his chest over a number of weeks, and shortness of breath on exertion.
He was referred to the emergency department on the same date. Holden’s condition was described in the referral letter as “urgent”.
He was said to be very short of breath and was triaged at the hospital. Counsel said he was discharged in the early hours of May 20th, and it was their case that that this should not have happened.
In the proceedings, it was claimed that Holden’s death was caused by the alleged wrongful acts of the hospital.
It was further claimed that had an appropriate history been taken at the hospital, it allegedly would have established unstable angina and he would have been admitted where appropriate treatment would have been administered.
It was further claimed that eight days after his hospital discharge, Holden returned to his GP complaining of continuing chest tightness, and he was referred for an appointment with a consultant cardiologist but he died suddenly in bed on June 9th, 2021.
All of the claims were denied.