€1m settlement after boy's heart defect missed in scan
The Irish High Court has approved a €1 million interim settlement for a two-year-old boy whose congenital heart defect was missed during a prenatal ultrasound. The HSE admitted that the scan was incomplete and fell below the required standard of care.
Why it matters
The case highlights critical issues in medical diagnostic standards and the legal accountability of public health services regarding prenatal care.
The High Court has approved an interim settlement of €1 million in the case of a two-year old boy who was described as being on "borrowed time" after a serious heart abnormality was not detected in an ultrasound scan before his birth.
Ollie Roche, from Gorey in Co Wexford, was six weeks old when he was diagnosed with complex congenital heart disease.
His lawyers told the High Court today that the heart defect should have been picked up in a scan months before his birth and had it been identified in time, he could have been treated with surgery.
However, at the time of his diagnosis six weeks after his birth in November 2023, his parents were told it was too late for surgery.
Senior Counsel Oonagh McCrann told the court "he is living his best life on what is borrowed time".
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