Injury claim news
20/10/2011

Sergeant accuses eye specialist of medical negligence

A blinded Garda sergeant from County Limerick has launched a High Court medical negligence claim against his ophthalmologist.

The father-of-two contracted a degenerative eye condition linked to wearing contact lenses in June 2005, but said the eye specialist who examined him at that time failed to test for it.

By September that year his eyesight had deteriorated dramatically and he was admitted to the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick. Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK), a serious corneal infection, was diagnosed as the cause.

The man's medical negligence solicitors say he was seen 11 times in the three months between the onset of the condition and his hospitalisation – but at no point was a swab taken of his eye.

They allege this simple test, described as "the most preliminary step" towards diagnosis, could have been the step that saved his sight.

Speaking in court, the man's personal injury lawyer said AK was well-recognised in 2005, and that the Limerick ophthalmic team should have been able to diagnose and treat it successfully.

He said their failure cost his client a promotion to the head of the drugs squad at the Garda station where he worked.

The 47-year-old, who wore soft contact lenses, no longer has any useful sight in his eyes. His vision is impaired to the point where he can just make out where windows are in a room, the court was told.

His suit accuses both the consultant and the Irish Health Services Executive of medical negligence. The case continues.