The High Court has approved a settlement of almost €1 million for an 11-year-old girl whose life expectancy has been shortened after being operated on using uncertified springs at Temple Street hospital.
The family of Nellie Lannen sued Children’s Health Ireland which admitted breaches of duty in relation to its care of Nellie, who was first operated on when she was five years old.
The settlement includes provision for her care for the next two years and is the first to be approved by the High Court following the disclosure that unapproved, implantable springs were used in spinal surgery by a surgeon at the hospital.
After the first operation in October 2020, Nellie had to have 14 further procedures, including a revision of her surgery just five days later, when it was discovered the rod and spring system inserted on her left side had shattered her pelvis, leaving her in what was described as severe and excruciating pain.
In court documents, her family described repeated infections and metal protruding from her body at various times.
Her father said the metal structure in her back was as if a coat hanger had been inserted into her and she was “on that coat hanger”, with multiple rods protruding through her skin.
Nellie was born with a neuromuscular disorder called spinal muscular atrophy type one. Her life expectancy had been improved when a new drug became available. But she needed surgery for a condition called kyphosis which causes the spine to curve forward, affecting the ability to breathe.
‘Experimental surgery’
The court heard the family was referred to spinal surgeon Connor Green who recommended what was described as “experimental surgery” to deal with her condition.
Senior Counsel Jonathan Kilfeather said rods were inserted at either side of her spine attached to her pelvis and the surgeon made use of a spring system which was not a certified system.
In a report, an expert on behalf of the family said it was “entirely unreasonable” to perform surgery using this system and the manner in which her pelvis was fixed was “unconventional” and he had never seen it done before.
The court heard she should have had a different type of surgery called fusion surgery but her health had disimproved so much that the risk to her health was now too high to have the alternative surgery.
Mr Kilfeather said if she had had the alternative surgery, there would have been no need for the subsequent operations.
He said the kyphosis she had originally been treated for, had not been corrected and she had been left in a worse situation than she had been in before the surgery. He said there was a hope she might be able to have the alternative surgery in the future but it was a “hope not an expectation”.
The settlement includes a figure of €350,000 in general damages, €260,000 for retrospective care and €340,000 for Nellie’s care including aids and appliances and physiotherapy in the future.
Her family will have to come back to court in two years’ time to seek a further settlement.
The hospital admitted breaches of duty in relation to the recommendation that Nellie should have this type of surgery, the parents’ knowledge of the design and performance of the spring system used by Mr Greene as well as a failure to recognise early enough that the system had failed leaving her in excruciating pain for five days.
It did not admit that all of the subsequent operations were caused solely by the use of the spring system.
Mr Justice Paul Coffey approved the interim settlement and wished Nellie and her family the best in the future.
Her father, Stephen Lannen, said the money would help the family look after Nellie but they were very angry that she had missed her opportunity to have the correct surgery.
He said the negligence of Children’s Health Ireland had robbed Nellie of this opportunity. He said they had been told her life expectancy would be severely curtailed and her quality of life would be much worse as a result.
He said Nellie, who is now 11 years old, deserved so much better.
Mr Lannen thanked their solicitor, Ciara McPhillips of Michael Boylan and Company who he said had worked tirelessly to get the settlement completed.