Woman with locked-in syndrome settles High Court action with €3.7m interim payout

A woman who has been living with locked-in syndrome for 14 years has settled, with an interim €3.7 million payout, an action over the care she received when she was first brought to hospital with a pounding headache.Lynsey Cribbin was 21 in 2012 when she was brought to Cavan General Hospital after she woke up with the headache, feeling unwell and had nausea. For the last 14 years she can only communicate through eye movements and has to use a wheelchair, the High Court heard on Friday.The now 36-year-old from Finea, Co Cavan, sued the HSE and Beaumont Hospital over the care she received after she presented at Cavan General Hospital on January 19th, 2012. The settlement, which reflects a one third discount, is without an admission of liability.READ MORECounsel Liam Reidy, with James Devlin for Cribbin, told the court she had woken up on January 19th, 2012, with a pounding headache and she felt unwell and had nausea. It was also noticed that she was staring in one eye and an ambulance was called.Counsel said Cribbin was brought to Cavan General Hospital where an MRI was carried out. Reidy said it was their case that the MRI was allegedly misinterpreted and that an acute infarction that required immediate treatment was not identified.By the time Cribbin was transferred to Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, counsel said she could not be treated. It was also their case that if Cribbin had been transferred sooner she could have had a procedure and would have made a reasonable recovery.Cribbin has locked-in syndrome and is paraplegic, counsel said. He said she is cognitively aware but can’t communicate verbally and has to communicate with her family members with her eyes.Cribbin was in court with her parents, Peter and Catherine, and extended family for the ruling of the interim settlement.In the proceedings against the HSE, it was claimed there was an alleged failure to interpret appropriately an MRI scan performed in Cavan General Hospital in the afternoon of January 19th, 2012.It was also claimed there was an alleged failure to diagnose Cribbin with an acute stroke in the afternoon of January 19th, 2012 and there was an alleged failure to manage Cribbin as an acute stroke following the MRI scan.Against Beaumont Hospital it was claimed there was an alleged failure to recommend an adequate treatment plan in the afternoon or early evening of January 19th, 2012 for Cribbin, given she had suffered an acute stroke.It was also claimed there was an alleged failure to advise Cavan General Hospital that Cribbin should immediately be seen by a stroke doctor. All the claims were denied.Approving the settlement, Judge Paul Coffey said it was a very sad and tragic case. He said it had been an extremely traumatic experience for all involved and he praised the Cribbin family for the extraordinary care they have given their daughter.“I know a hard road lies ahead, but I wish you good fortune,” the judge said.The case will come back before the courts in 2030 when Lynsey’s future care needs will be assessed.