The Plaintiff, Hugh O’ Donnell, sustained injuries as a result of an incident which occurred on or about the 15th August 2025 in St. Luke’s General Hospital in Kilkenny. On the occasion of the said accident, the Plaintiff was present on the Defendants' premises when a portion of the ceiling in the Critical Care Unit was caused to collapse on top of the Plaintiff.
This incident was distressing for Mr. O Donnell and a source of concern for him and his family. Correspondence was received from the HSE Solicitor, and it went on to state that “our client very much regrets that the incident occurred”. Liability was admitted by the defendants.
In relation to the issue of Patient Safety and the O’Donnell’s position, both Mr. O'Donnell and his family are satisfied with the outcome of the proceedings and acknowledge that the HSE has had a Patient Safety Open Disclosure Meeting at which members of Mr. O’Donnell’s family attended.
It is believed that this is the first voluntary Patient Safety Open Disclosure Meeting under the Patient Safety Act 2023 to have taken place in accordance with the recently introduced framework for open disclosure and Patient Safety.